Love Behind The Camera
by Hinata5enpai
Summary: Growing up subdued and bullied, Hinata is stunned when she lands and aces an audition with Evolution Entertainment. She's placed in a co-ed, 4-person idol group and instantly notices a healthy growth in her confidence and self-esteem. Could these three people be the key to her happiness that she's been searching for? Hina x Sasu, Saku x Gaa, and Ten x Neji End-Game! Mature Themes!
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! I'm writing this because I had a dream about something like this and I'm running with it! I'm super excited to start a new story and I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading!**

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The arts are one of the best ways to leave your stamp in history. In a world where technology is constantly upgrading and one day something is popular and then unpopular the next, everyone can agree that showing talent in music or art is something they long for. If you ask a high school graduate what they plan on going to college for, they will most likely give you a straight answer of business or accounting.

Now if you were to ask them what their dream job would be, it more often than not would be something completely unrelated to what they are going to school for. For me, personally, I'm going to college for photography but I really want to be an artist. I honestly don't care if it's a painter, a singer, or dancer. I just wanted to live a life with a constant ability to express myself. It wasn't that I hated the idea of being a photographer, it's just that I wanted to be the one on the other side of the lens.

My hands danced over the piano keys in the empty and dark music room. The sleek feel of each key brought a swell to my chest and a mental image of me playing for a stadium brought a small smile to my lips. A soft melody drifted into the air and it was as if I could see the notes physically floating out of the instrument and into the atmosphere around the room. The intrusive sound of snickering quickly wiped the euphoria out of my mind and my eyes shot to the window next to the door to see two students, a boy and a girl, with their noses pressed to the glass making faces at me.

The swelling in my chest disappeared instantly and a soft sigh pushed past my lips as I dropped my eyes back to the piano keys, stopping my fingers' movement. The door handle jiggled, but I had locked it on my way in. The disappointment I felt at being interrupted was quickly rising into a panic. The snickering picked up as the intruders realized I had expected them to come harass me. It wasn't anything new for me to be bullied by these two, and a handful more. These two in particular were Karin and Suigetsu.

They were the school's "it" couple, but not because everyone loved them. They had bullied and bought their way to the top. Karin was undoubtedly one of the prettiest girls I had ever seen, with blood red hair and sultry dark eyes set against pale skin, but the moment she opened her mouth she was transformed into a disgusting witch. Suigetsu, on the other hand, was not the most handsome guy. He was quite average with shoulder length white hair and blue eyes. If we're all being truthful, Karin carried the spotlight in the relationship with Suigetsu supporting her choices both physically and mentally.

Karin's family had designed a chain of high-end glasses and made quite a statement in the fashion industry. The girl in question had nothing to do with any of the designs, but told everyone that she'd done most of the work for the line and people either believed her or pretended to so they wouldn't be her next target. I remember last year on the last day of school, the two had held a girl down in the gymnasium and cut her hair so short that she had to shave her head to make it even. Said girl had had the prettiest natural pink hair and was quite a stunning person in general that Karin must have felt threatened by her mere presence.

I don't remember the girl's name, but she didn't come back to school this year so I assume she switched schools. I could feel sweat forming on the back of my neck as they jiggled the handle again. One of my hands instinctively reached up to touch my long black hair. The year was coming to an end in just one week. They wouldn't be interested in repeating their show from last year, would they? Surely not on me. They'd butchered that girls' hair because she was gorgeous and unique, and I was anything but that. "We're not leaving until you come out!" My hands moved to rest in my lap as I panicked.

Father would be so angry if my hair was cut. It was Hyuga standard to have long and dark hair. My family ran a very large computer business, similar to that of Apple or Samsung. Because we were so close to the CEO of the corporation, my sister and I would have to hold to our families traditions and image. I glanced at the walls of the room and lost even more hope. The music rooms were all windowless and lined with soundproof panels. I pointedly ignored the blatant laughter that was now erupting behind the glass window as I closed the lid over the piano keys and pulled my book bag over my shoulder.

The clock on the wall told me that my free period would be ending in about ten minutes, so I'd have to get out of the room soon or my father would be notified that I was tardy to my next class. With a deep breath, I squared my shoulders and walked as confidently as I could toward the door. The second I turned the lock, it shot open, forcing me back a few steps so as not to be smacked with it. The two tormentors stood with their arms crossed and smirks on their faces. If they didn't have such distant features, I'd have guessed they were related with their similar personalities and expressions.

"That didn't take as long as I'd expected it to, Hinata." Karin's pearly white teeth sparkled as she gave a syrupy smile. I moved forward towards the couple with intent to brush past them and head towards my math class. Suigetsu, never one to shy away from getting physical even if he was a boy and most of their targets were girls, grabbed my forearm and stopped me from leaving. As I froze, my mind reeled to try and come up with a plan to get out of this predicament. Karin continued talking, for she knew that Suigetsu would have her back and keep me in place, "Hinata I'm really going to miss you once we graduate. Don't you feel the same?" I'd never been one to fight back verbally with the couple, so I just gave Suigetsu a pleading look. On a few occasions the boy had convinced Karin to let me go easy, but it was only, I'm guessing, because he knew Neji would come after him if he caught wind of the two bullying the heir to the company.

Neji's my older cousin who is in college studying business management and accounting. Per Father's orders, he is to be my "right-hand-man" if and when I take over as CEO. The boy gave me a scary smile before turning his head towards his girlfriend, "Karin maybe we should back off for today. Class is about to end and we'll get caught by Anko." Anko was the vice principle who patrolled the top floor of the building between classes and was known to be quite strict when it came to punishing wrong-doers. I didn't turn to look at the redhead's reaction, but I heard her huff stubbornly before stomping her high-heeled foot, "You never let me have any fun anymore!" All three of us knew that Suigetsu didn't "let" or "forbid" her from doing anything and that he just kept her from getting caught, but none of us spoke on the fact.

I was kicked in between my shoulder blades and thrown to the floor. My hands smacked against the linoleum just in time to stop my head from bashing down and I lay still for a moment while trying to gather a breath. Suigetsu and Karin both cackled like a witch on Halloween before nudging me in the side and walking off towards whatever classes they had next. The bell rang and I quickly jumped to my feet, dusting off my uniform. Hundreds of students flooded the hallways and I spotted Anko down the hall with her hawk-like gaze swimming over the crowds of students for fights or misbehavior. Shutting the music room door behind me, I dipped into the chaos of bodies and headed towards my math class.

At the end of the school day, I headed toward my locker. It was on the top floor, very close to where the music room was. I peered at my reflection in the small rectangle of glass on the door before freezing. Suigetsu was staring back at me from the other side of the window, though the lights were off in the room. Quickly, I tried to hurry past, but the door to the room swung open and my arms were both grabbed and I was once again pulled against my will by the white-haired male. To my dismay, most of the seniors lockers on the top floor were of those students who have after school clubs so the hallway was nearly empty and no one seemed to notice my abduction. My back hit the back of the re-closed music room door and I heard Suigetsu turn the lock.

My heart was beating so quickly, I'm sure he could hear it. My books lay on the ground in a mess by my feet. Suigetsu's blue eyes seemed to glow in the dark room as he put a hand on either side of my head and smiled down at me. "Hello Hinata." I was sweating nervously. His face was so close to mine that I could smell the mint of the gum he was chewing. "S-s-s-suigetsu! W-" I couldn't even finish before the man brought his face closer to have his nose touching mine and cut me off, "You know. I haven't seen or heard from Neji in months. He must be working so hard in college that he doesn't have time to come check on his poor little cousin." Tears welled in my eyes, but I tried to hold them back.

"You should tell him not to worry, though. I've been keeping Karin at bay so you can graduate in one piece. You should feel ashamed of yourself for never even thanking me, Hinata!" I reluctantly opened my mouth to give him the thank you he'd requested, if only just to get him to release me, but he kept on talking, "I can think of a few ways you can make it up to me." I felt a warmth in my chest, and it wasn't a positive one. The boy's hands moved to hold my shoulders and he pressed his lips roughly against mine without permission. The familiar heat of self-loathing crept up onto my cheeks and I felt tears start to fall past my lashes.

I didn't move my lips with his and tried to push him away, but his grip on my shoulders just increased until I gave up fighting and let him kiss me for a moment. He pulled his lips away and I thought that he was going to let me go since he had gotten what he wanted, but he dipped down and kissed my neck. My whole body was positively shaking with nervous energy. I felt his hot breath against my damp skin as he laughed, "I can tell you're not used to this, Hinata." Despite the fact that I wasn't attracted to the boy that was pretty much molesting me, I could see how someone you were actually interested in doing this to you would drive you crazy.

I pictured Naruto's face and shut my eyes, only to quickly shoot them open. I tried harder to push away when a familiar feeling in my abdomen appeared when I tried to picture Naruto doing this to me. Naruto was one of the most popular guys in school who was a good friend of mine in elementary school. Once he hit puberty he shot up and became muscular and attractive, therefore becoming quite the ladies' man. He hadn't been rude to me at any point, he just forgot who I was in general. That didn't mean I didn't remember how sweet he was back in grade school.

He'd even saved me once from a group of bullies who were teasing me about my eye color. Suigetsu pulled me out of my thoughts by sliding his leg between mine and nibbling slightly on the crease of my neck. One of his hands slid down from my shoulder and towards my breasts, but I put all of my might into one strong push that finally put a foot or so of distance between us. Tears were rolling down my cheeks, but I quickly unlocked the door and sprinted down the hall towards the stairs. The boy had still been smiling when I'd shoved him and made no move to follow me. That didn't stop me from hurrying down the now-empty stairwell and out the front doors of the school without looking back or getting my stuff from my locker.

The few stragglers outside of the school looked at me with confused looks as I roughly wiped my tears and hurried in the direction of my home. My family's personal home was merely a few blocks from the prestigious school, in a good neighborhood with a park, a library, restaurants and cafes all in the area. I surveyed each yard on the way home and sure enough each one was perfectly mowed and a healthy green with perfect gardens. No yard clippings or litter dusted the sidewalks. Many people walked the sidewalks in the area, whether it be business people headed for a restaurant for a lunch meeting, families headed for the park, or students headed for the library.

The city bus drove past and my father's stoic face was planted on a poster on the side of it with the Hyuga name and our latest gaming laptop next to it for advertisement. I just wanted to get away from everything that reminded me of my family and school. The only thing truly stopping me was myself, I suppose. I had turned eighteen a few months back and was perfectly capable of working to pay for an apartment. I turned back to look at my father's picture just before it turned a corner and left my view. He was the main reason I hadn't up and left. Despite wanting to live an artistic life of comfort, the fear of not being successful enough to live on my earnings scared me into staying to one-day accept the CEO position of the family business.

At least then I'd have a very good and stable source of income for a family that I hope to have one day. I turned the next corner, nodding politely at an elderly couple that passed by before heading up the steps of the only house in the area. My father had purposely bought the land in the middle of the business district so we wouldn't have any neighbors trying to become acquainted with us just for the monitary or social benefits. The house itself was a mix between modern and Victorian. It was three stories tall and had a perfect garden in the yard to match the rest of the neighborhood. Stepping through the doors, I immediately heard my little sister's taunting voice from the dining room, "Ooooh, you're in trouble!"

I felt an uncute pout tug at the corners of my mouth and hurried into the dining room to see Hanabi, Neji, and my father sitting calmly with coffee cups in front of them. I went to sit down as well, but Father stopped me with a raised hand, "Hinata, I plan on making this quick and simple." I glanced at Neji, who kept his gaze on the dark coffee in his mug. "I will not be offering you the CEO position upon my retirement." Shock rocked my body and I forgot my manners momentarily, "What!? Who is getting it then?" Father stood quickly and hardened his gaze, "That is not the proper way to address your elder. This is yet another reason why I have decided to have Neji take over as heir to the company, with Hanabi as his secondary. I do, however, expect you to support this decision and choose which position you would like to train for within the company. Hanabi mentioned that you may be suited for Human Resources. Would you agree?"

Hanabi didn't even try to stifle her snickering, but silenced when Father shot her a glare as well. My mind reeled as the three suddenly all stared and waited for my reply. My mind was blank. All my life I'd been under the impression that the eldest daughter would take over the business. The familiar feeling of tears coming made my eyes sting and I quickly turned and hurried out the front door before my family could see the disgraceful reaction. None of them bothered yelling at me or following me and just let me leave. What was even worse is that I tripped on the last step and fell onto my hands and knees on the concrete sidewalk.

My shoulders slumped and I watched as my tears fell onto the concrete like rain falling from the sky. My knees and palms hurt, but I couldn't bring myself to move. A few people walked around me quietly only to start whispering frantically once they thought I was out of earshot, but a large hand on my shoulder shook me from my depressed stupor. My head shot up and I sucked in a sharp breath at the beauty of the man standing above me. He had a naturally grey tint to his blonde hair, dark eyes, and full lips that could have been mistaken for a woman's if the rest of his face wasn't so obviously masculine. My scratched hands shot up to rub the tears off of my cheeks and I nervously accepted the man's outreached hand to get to my feet.

"You took quite a spell there! Are you alright?" I nodded my head with heat rushing to my cheeks. I fell in front of this model-looking man, how could my day get any worse? He gave a warm chuckle before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a handkerchief. I then noticed that he was in a very expensive looking suit. I gave him a small smile as I accepted the cloth and lightly dabbed at the remaining tears. When I went to return it to him he put his hands up in defense with a kind smile, "Don't worry about it, miss. If you don't mind, though, may I ask you to accompany me for a cup of coffee?" My heartbeat raced and I felt uneasy but flattered.

The man had to be at least in his mid-thirties, but didn't seem to mind asking a clearly much younger woman to have coffee. I glanced back up at the house I'd hurried out of. None of them had come to check on me yet. The slightest bit of anger rose within me and I accepted the man's invitation solely out of spite. Father would never approve of me going on what looked to be a date with someone so much older than me. We walked side by side in silence for a few moments until we came to the small cafe at the end of the block. The man held the door open for me and I gave him a smile as thanks.

Once we were seated and had our coffees in front of us, the man finally started talking. "So what is your name?" A small laugh escaped my lips. It was odd how quickly I'd been cheered up by such a small act of kindness from a stranger. "M-My name is Hinata. What a-about you?" I didn't often release my last name unless I was sure of the person I was meeting's intention. The man took a sip of his black coffee, his eyes never leaving mine. He then smiled a blinding smile that reminded me slightly of Naruto before replying, "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I am the CEO of Evolution Entertainment."

My heart fell to the pit of my stomach and I could tell he noticed because he started laughing light-heartedly. Of course I knew of the talent agency. They were famous for being one of the first agencies to form co-ed groups and very successful ones at that. I immediately felt like a toad. The girls that he chose to recruit for his agency were often more than worthy to be actresses or models and I was undoubtedly very plain looking compared to them. Once his laughing ceased, he continued, "It wasn't my intention to scare you, Hinata. I simply wanted to let you know that you caught my eye. Do you sing at all?"

I was scared that my voice would waver too much be understood so I simply shrugged and nodded. It took all that was in me not to faint or let my mouth hang open in awe. The man's smile widened and he rested his chin on his intertwined fingers, still studying my ever-reddening face, "That's good to hear. To be honest, when you looked up at me with tears in your eyes, you reminded me of the lead actresses in the romantic Korean dramas. I'm working on a four person group and I need just one more female and I was looking for someone with that same softer, more feminine look for the spot. Would you be interested in auditioning?" I couldn't stop my hand from shooting up to cover my gaping mouth in shock.

He was so honest when he spoke that it took me off guard. I guess if you were as powerful as he was you wouldn't have to edit what you say to others. Without thinking I nodded again. The man's grin reached the widest it had since I'd met him and it felt as though my stomach was turning, but in a good way. I would never be interested in dating a man with such an age gap as his, but I couldn't deny that he was insanely attractive. He reached into his suit coat and pulled out a pen and a small card. The logo for Evolution Entertainment was on the front and on the back was the number to the secretary of their office, named Shizune if I read correctly from across the table. He signed the card and wrote "12 PM" with the date before handing it to me.

I read over the card and spoke in a defeated tone, "At n-n-noon? I will have c-class then." The man didn't let my opposition faze his glee and took another sip of his coffee, "If you want it bad enough, you'll find a way to make it on time." He gave me one more smile before leaving money for our drinks on the table and standing up, "I hope to see you tomorrow, Hinata. It was nice to meet you." I rose to my feet and shook his hand. He turned to walk out before pausing and turning back to me for a moment with a small smile on his lips, "Don't let you family get to you. The Hyuga's are known for being too serious." My cheeks paled and he let out another warm chuckle before giving me a small nod and finally leaving the cafe. I can't believe I'd been scouted.

As I stared down at the fancy signature on the card he'd given me, I didn't have a doubt in my mind that I would be going to that audition, even if it meant skipping school.


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry it took so long to update guys! Here's the second chapter! I will always put links at the bottom of each chapter if a song is used that way you can hear what they're supposed to be performing if you want. Thank you so sososoossoososososososososososoosos much for all of the reviews/follows/favorites! MAY YOUR DAYS BE FILLED WITH LOVE AND SWEETS. Please enjoy the chapter :D**

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Later that evening, I snuck inside and went straight to my room after convincing a few of the maids not to mention my arrival to Father. Our house wasn't the mansion you'd expect the CEO of Hyuuga to have, but it was more grand than the everyday high-class family's. My mother had designed the house before dying whilst giving birth to Hanabi. When Father found the designs, he had the house built without a second missed.

It'd been years since her untimely death, but Father never even went on a single date. He threw himself into his work, which had obviously paid off with the current status of the company. Even if the company was thriving, his home life wasn't. Hanabi still had her teenage rebellious nature to outgrow, but showed promise that I clearly didn't. Neji, when around, tried his best to follow in Father's footsteps. He was focused and driven around him, but when Father wasn't around he was actually quite mellow and comforting, if a little short-tempered when it came to Hanabi and I.

Then there was me. The eldest daughter that just didn't have what it takes. I was, as Father had said on multiple occasions, too "soft" to fit in. I didn't feel as though there was anything spectacular about my compassion and empathy towards others when compared to your everyday person, but compared to the Hyuuga family, I was a saint. Anything less than complete professionalism is unacceptable.

I sighed to myself as I applied the finishing touches to my mud mask in the mirror of my on-suite bathroom. It was dark out, nearly midnight, and I couldn't get to sleep. There were a few things making me restless. First being, obviously, the audition I'd have tomorrow. Kakashi Hatake had said that it was a co-ed group he wanted me to try out for. A familiar warmth rose to my cheeks, but felt cooler with the dark-colored mask against my skin.

That means there will be two boys and two girls. It'd been a while since I'd talked to any boys other than Neji, often, and Suigetsu, recently. Speaking of Suigetsu, he's the second reason for my insomnia. Would he be waiting for me when I get to school? Did he tell Karin about his little stunt? Would she try to hurt me in return? I absent-mindedly touched the messy bun on the top of my head, that poor girl from last year's shaved head an ever-present thought being pictured but with me in her place. Another sigh slipped past my lips and I padded out to my bedroom. It had gray plush carpet, white Victorian-style furniture, and a large poster bed with lavender bedding thrown invitingly on top of the mattress.

My bed was, by far, my favorite thing in the whole house. Despite my longing to throw myself unceremoniously onto the soft contraption, I headed to my walk-in closet and debated what to wear for the audition. I'd decided to just skip my morning classes, go to the audition, and then go to school afterwards if I was finished in time. I hadn't missed a day of school since Freshman year. If I were sick, Father would have me take medication and then send me off anyway. A small part of me hoped this audition went well and I'd help this group become world-famous just to show my father that I COULD succeed at something and maybe just a little bit to spite him for treating me so badly throughout the years. The larger part of me wanted this for myself. This could be the break that I've desperately been waiting for!

I chose a dark purple day dress that tightened at the waist and loosened up at the bottom. It ended an inch or two above my knees, had long sleeves, and had pockets. I also chose a pair of black flats with a pretty lace design on the toes. After laying out the clothes and washing the mud-mask off of my face, I finally forced myself to shut out the lights and get to bed. Tomorrow is the big day!

The next morning I woke up to the sun shining through my silk curtains directly onto my eyelids. I felt as though I hadn't slept at all, but didn't let that damper my excitement(or nervousness!). I'd slept in until ten o'clock since I'd turned my alarm off for the morning. No one came to check on me because I normally took care of myself. Father leaves for work very early each morning so he never sees Hanabi or I off to school and the maids leave me alone at my request.

I let my hair down and did some loose curls at the ends, also applying a little mascara and clear lip-gloss before putting on the outfit I'd picked out the night before and heading downstairs. Only the maids were home and none of them dared say anything other than good morning to me. It wasn't because of me that they were so formal, but they'd been threatened upon hire that they were not to attempt conversation with any of the Hyuuga's unless addressed first. I always made sure to smile at them when we made eye contact and thank them for their help when I had the chance.

While I made myself a small omelet for breakfast, I did some vocal warm-ups that I was taught in choir class at school. I had never had any professional singing lessons, but I'm sure warming up is obviously a good idea. After eating my breakfast, I drank a glass of water to clear my throat before grabbing my purse and heading outside. The building that Evolution Entertainment's main office was located in was clear across town and would take about forty minutes to get to, which would have me showing up about ten minutes early. After hailing a cab and giving the woman in the front seat the address, I pulled out my wallet to make sure I had cash to give the driver a tip when the ride was finished. I had a few credit cards, courtesy of the Hyuuga, and a couple five dollar bills.

"Would you like to listen to the radio, Ma'am?" I nearly jumped out of my skin at the woman's sudden question. She was a very pretty redhead with tattoos on her arms and a smile on her freckled face. I smiled and nodded. She turned the radio on the dash on and I took the opportunity to continue warming up my voice by humming along with whatever songs played on the radio. The ride seemed to fly by since I had something to focus on, and before I knew it we were pulled up in front of a large, modern looking building with large windows lining the whole front side. I paid the woman and gave her a tip, to which she accepted and thanked me for before pulling away and leaving me in front of what could be my future.

All types of people were walking around me to and from the agency. There were business-like people in suits and ties, regularly dressed civilians that may have been stopping in to get the scoop on their favorite groups, and young hopeful looking people who seemed as though they were there to audition, just like me. There were also a few photographers, paparazzi I assumed, taking pictures of every single person that entered or left the building. Their bosses must assign them to that job so they can maybe get a first picture of a new artist, which would most likely be very good for whatever news outlet they work for.

I kept my head low as one of them turned my way to snap a picture, hoping they wouldn't recognize me by my tell-tale eye color. As I rushed towards the door, the same photographer got to his feet to come up and grab my arm. My eyes shot up to his and he obviously recognized me. He quickly shoved his camera in my face and started taking snapshot after snapshot of what must've been a very bewildered expression. I tried to pull my arm from the rude man, but he tightened his grip. I don't know how he managed to take pictures one-handed with the giant camera, but he did. He must be experienced with this type of thing.

I used my free arm to duck my head and cover my face as I continued to pull against his hold. After looking at his camera screen for a moment and realizing he'd already gotten the shot he needed, the man released my now-sore arm to sprint away before I could do anything and I fell clumsily onto the concrete walkway. I heard fast approaching footsteps and I looked up to see Kakashi standing over me, once again offering a hand to help me up.

He wasn't smiling down at me this time, though, as he was telling a large man in a suit with sunglasses to chase down the man that had taken my picture. I accepted his waiting hand and dusted off my dress after standing up. Kakashi watched as the large man took off in the direction of the paparazzi guy before turning to me with an apologetic smile, "I'm so sorry, Hinata! Are you hurt?" He gazed down at my scuffed knees with worry etched onto his brow. I felt at ease talking with the older male, having gotten over the initial shock of his status after having coffee with him, "I'm alright, thank you Mr. Hatake."

Kakashi gave a sigh of relief before guiding me into the impressive building, weaving me through the slightly crowded entryway and through a few doors before we arrived in a large room with mirrors covering one wall of the room completely, a grand piano sitting in the corner, and a few people sitting in expensive-looking chairs just next to it. I nervously glanced back at Kakashi who gave an amused smile back and gestured for me to stand in front of the piano. I did as wanted and Kakashi stood next to me, both of us facing the three people who were previously sitting but had risen to greet us.

"Hinata, let me introduce my colleagues here." He gestured to the furthest one from where I stood, a tall and busty blonde woman with a barely-there smile on her face, "This is Tsunade. She is a legendary choreographer that has trained every single one of the idols that is signed to Evolution." I smiled anxiously at the woman, who kept the smile on her face that looked as if she only had it there to be polite. She nodded back and looked to her right as Kakashi moved on to the next person. It was an older man with very long white hair and wrinkles on his cheeks, "This is Jiraiya. He is a world-renowned vocal coach that trains a select few of our idols, but is included in every single decision of who makes the cut during their initial audition." I gave this man a smile as well, and he smiled back.

I felt more relaxed around that man then the blonde woman who was now staring past the older man at the third and final person in their group. I followed her gaze and nearly choked on my breath. Standing in front of me was none other than Tenten. THE Tenten. She was one of Evolution's very few solo artists and was quite comparable to the popularity of Britney Spears or Christina Aguilara in their most popular days. My face felt hot and I wondered if I would faint. It'd been a while since I'd had a fainting spell, but I quickly drew my eyes away from the beautiful young woman to look back up at Kakashi who had a knowing look on his face.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as inconspicuously as possible before smiling to the waiting woman as Kakashi finished up his introductions, "This is Tenten, one of our solo artists who has lately shown interest in finding new talent for the agency. She actually recruited two out of the three other members in the group you're auditioning for and will be a mentor to you should you pass this audition." I clamped my mouth shut to keep myself from spitting out words of admiration for her work and simply continued to smile at the woman as she and the others sat back down. Kakashi gave out an amused chuckle before lightly touching my shoulder, "Let's move forward with the audition, shall we?"

Once I returned his smile, he took a seat next to Tsunade, who handed him a clipboard with a few papers and a pen on it. He glanced down at it before stating in a more business-like voice, "Please state your name and age." His change in demeanor almost threw me for a loop, but I forced myself to answer smoothly, "My name is Hinata Hyuuga and I am eighteen years old."

He jotted that down on his paper and continued without looking back up at me. I was okay with him not looking because the other three people in the room were watching like hawks. "Would you say you have more talent for singing, dancing, or acting?" I didn't really have to think and responded, "Singing."

He jotted that down, glancing at Jiraiya as if telling him that he should pay more attention since I would be focusing on vocals. "What is your favorite song right now?" My cheeks felt a bit warm again, and I glanced down at my shoes nervously, "If No One Will Listen by T-Tenten." Tenten interrupted Kakashi with an inquiring smile on her face, "That song isn't available online yet. Did you preorder my album?" My eyes shot to hers in shock that she was directly addressing me, but I quickly replied, "Yes! I r-r-really like your music!"

Tenten leaned back in her chair and looked at the other three haughtily, as if proud she had fans. The other three rolled their eyes at her before Kakashi continued, "This is the last question before you have to sing, Hinata." I nodded. "What makes you love music?" I thought about it for a few moments before speaking with complete honesty, "You can sing a song to 10,000 different people and that song is going to have 10,000 different meanings. I want to inspire others."

The four "judges" nodded their heads silently, but I couldn't tell if they agreed with me or not. Jiraiya rose to his feet and walked around me to sit at the piano. He had a naturally raspy voice that sounded as though he'd be very talented at singing the blues, "What song would you like to sing?" Tenten cut me off before I could reply, "Have her sing If No One Will Listen, since it's her favorite!" I glanced back at the girl and she gave me a bright smile, "Is that okay?" I gave her a small smile back and nodded, "Yes, that's fine."

The others all nodded in unison again and Jiraiya started playing the song without any further conversation. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to steady my nerves before just letting the piano's notes relax me. I let myself get lost in the music and opened my mouth when it was time to start singing.

 _Maybe no one told you there is strength in your tears, and so you fight to keep from pouring out, but what if you unlock the gate that keeps your secret soul. Do you think that there's enough that you might drown?_

 _If no one will listen if you decide to speak. If no one's left standing after the bombs explode. If no one wants to look at you for what you really are, I will be here still._

I opened my eyes and glanced at Jiraiya, who was staring at me with a studying gaze but kept on playing the song. There was no noise but the sound of Kakashi's pen moving against his paper from behind and I was too anxious that I would mess up if I risked turning to look at Tenten, who's song I may be butchering as we speak.

 _No one can tell you where you alone must go. There's no telling what you'll find there. And God I know the fear that eats away at your bones. Screaming every step to just stay here._

 _If no one will listen if you decide to speak. If no one is left standing after the bombs explode. If no one wants to look at you for what you really are I will be here still._

There was a break where there was an instrumental in the song, and Jiraiya played the notes perfectly before leading the song into it's bridge.

 _If you find your fists are raw and red from beating yourself down. If your legs have given out under the weight. If you find that you've been settling for a world of grey so you wouldn't have to face down your own hate-_

After executing the bridge in what I felt was one of the best I'd done, aside from singing in the shower of course, Jiraiya led the song into it's final chorus, which was where the singer is supposed to adventure a bit with the notes and show that they have skill.

 _If no one will listen if you decide to speak. If no one is left standing after the bombs explode. If no one wants to look at you for what you really are I will be here still._

 _I will be here still._

I let out a nervous breath after ending the final note. I wiped my sweaty and shaking palms onto my dress and turned to face the three that were sitting behind me. All three of them were straight-faced, and Tenten even looked a little mad. Before I could apologize for insulting her by not performing her song well, she spat at me, "How are you gonna just waltz in here and show me up with my own damn song!"

After hearing her joking tone, I let out a relieved laugh and the others in the room gave small laughs as well. Tenten rose to her feet to stand next to me and wrap an arm around my shoulders, being much taller than me in her stiletto heels, "Well I don't care what all of you think, I love her and I want her in. I think she'll be perfect." Tsunade didn't smile or provide any comforting expressions, but glared at me before barking out in a bossy voice, "I sure hope you can dance." I smiled back at her even though I wasn't sure if I could or not. Jiraiya rose from the piano and went to sit next to Tsunade, "You definitely need some training, but I'd be delighted to have you as one of my students." Kakashi rose to his feet quietly with a solemn expression, which made my heart drop to my stomach.

Tenten's grip on my shoulders tightened a bit. Kakashi stood in front of me for a moment and you could almost physically feel the tension rising in the room before he busted out with a goofy smile, "You better get ready, little Hyuuga, because you're in!"

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 **As promised, here's the link to the song mentioned in this chapter:** **watch?v=8dNDCu3eK_8**

 **Please let me beg to continue to be showered with attention in the form of reviews/follows/favorites! :D**

 **I love you guys!**

 **Thanks again for reading and I'll update as soon as I can!**


	3. Chapter 3

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE FORGIVE ME FOR THE LONGER WAIT ON THIS CHAPTER!**

 **I've been so busy with work and family that I haven't had time to get this typed up. I am so thankful for the reviews/favorites/follows THAT I COULD CRY!**

 **I want to be clear that I'm not going to have Hinata be weak and stutter-y throughout this whole story because I hate stories with weak female leads AND the stuttering is annoying to type and read.**

 **I HAVE A QUESTION THAT I WOULD LIKE ANSWERED: WOULD ANYONE BE INTERESTED IF I START A THING WHERE I POST SOME MAYBE LESSER KNOWN SONGS' LINKS IN EACH CHAPTER THAT YOU ALL MIGHT LIKE?**

 **I, for one, love to hear new music and I feel like it's a good way to discover stuff you normally wouldn't stumble upon. ON TOP OF THAT, I'd be more than happy to receive some of your recommendations! Let me know!**

 **ANYWAY: PLEASE ENJOY THIS CHAPTER I PROMISE TO TRY AND UPDATE MORE OFTEN I LOVE YOU AND YOU'RE A DELIGHT HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!**

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Tenten erupted into what seemed to be chaos in physical form. The taller girl started jumping up and down and squealing and dancing and shaking me by my shoulders with a large grin. I was quite the opposite. I probably looked stupid standing there with disbelief on my face and mouth gaping wide open. "You made it! You made it! Oh my god! Yes!"

Tsunade managed to crack a genuine-looking smile before excusing herself to take a call while Jiraiya and Kakashi watched Tenten try to shake me to death with amusement on their faces. I made it? I did it! There had always been a small, sad, part of me that believed what my father always says to be true. That part of me was nowhere in sight once the pride and happiness of my achievement began to set in.

Before I could tell what was happening, I was being pulled along by Tenten as we followed Kakashi out of the room and through a few halls. Tenten was going on and on about how she knew I would make it and how we were going to be so close and how she thought I'd fit in well with the others in the group. I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience with a smile glued to my face and an ever-nodding head at her energetic babbling, but I was still mentally trying to wrap my head around the fact that I, Hinata Hyuuga, had done what no Hyuuga had done before.

I'd taken the first step in quite the opposite path of what they Hyuuga's were famous for and it proved to be fruitful. The cellphone in my dress pocket began vibrating and I pulled it up to see I had two missed calls, one from the school and one from Father. I'd normally be having an anxiety attack at the sight, but this day marks a day of change in my timeline. No longer would I be the submissive older Hyuuga sister who silently took her family's berating comments.

No.

This new Hinata would do what she felt was right and she would do it for herself. After slipping the phone back into my dress pocket, I heard Tenten start talking about how she just noticed how cute my clothes were, how cute it was that my dress had pockets, and how annoyed she was at how small or nonexistent pockets were in female clothing.

"You know why the make them like that, right?" She made loud gestures with her hands as she talked, I noticed, "So we'll be forced to buy handbags! It's an evil ass money scheme!" Her humorous yet extremely true statement managed to knock me out of my stupor and pull a small laugh from my lips. She took that as a sign to continue on her tirade.

She talked to me as if we'd been friends for all of our lives. I learned a few things about her in the short period of time that we followed Kakashi through the halls. Her favorite color was green, she hated wearing makeup, loved to play any type of game, and she wrote most of her own music. The thing that comforted me most and made me like her even more than I already did is that she didn't mind it if I just listened to her talk. She didn't try to make me say more than I wanted. It was still blowing my mind that one of my favorite singers was so down to earth and normal. The way she talked nonstop made me feel like she was alone a lot and was desperate to talk to other people.

I watched her flawless tan skill turn a slight red tint as she started describing some guy that was still a trainee for an upcoming boy group. It was even odder to me that someone as incredible as her wouldn't just go up to him and ask him out. She was one hundred percent the whole package. Anyone, male or female, would be lucky to go on a date with her. Before long, we finally made it to an elevator and stepped inside.

The background noise of people bustling around us disappeared as the metal doors slid shut. Tenten stopped talking as if she knew that Kakashi would then start talking. "You will be sharing a bedroom with Sakura, the other girl in your group. The two of you are in room 111 on the sixth floor. Sasuke and Gaara, the boys in your group, will be in room 113 which is right next door."

Kakashi's silky smooth voice never ceased to mesmerize me and all I could do was nod and accept the keys that he pulled out of his pocket and handed to me. Tenten cut in with a quick, "I'm in room 112, right across the hall!" Kakashi glanced at her with a small smirk at her excitement before the doors opened again and we followed him down the empty hall. There were ten rooms on the floor so they were numbered from 110 up. We stopped in front of room 111 and a plate on the door said _Prestige-Ladies._ Kakashi knocked on the door and footsteps could be heard shuffling for a moment before the door swang open to reveal a pink-haired girl dressed in short-shorts and an over-sized shirt.

I thought I recognized her, but I couldn't remember where I'd seen her before. She had her hair cut shoulder length with a side part, bright green eyes, and lightly tanned skin. Kakashi ushered us all into the room, which was quite larger inside that I would have guessed. There was a small lounge area with a couch, a few bean-bags, a coffee table, and a tv set that we all sat in. The pink girl seemed to be expecting us and didn't question our arrival.

She did keep glancing over at me with a small smile, but didn't make any move to introduce herself. Once the two of us were seated next to each other on the couch, Tenten and Kakashi stood opposite. After a moment or two of the pair studying the girl and I, Tenten busted out loudly, "I knew it would work! You two are so different that you look great together!" Kakashi gave a nod and smiled reassuringly.

"Hinata, I want you to meet Sakura. She has been training here for three months and will be the more dance-oriented female of your group." I looked over to meet the gaze of the girl that sat a mere foot away from me and smiled nervously, not trusting my voice just yet in the presence of the new-comer. Kakashi and Tenten stared at us some more as if expecting us to hug, or talk, or something, but we didn't do any of that.

Looking a bit disappointed, Tenten handed me a folder with a bunch of papers within, "This is your schedule for the next two weeks, the sheet music for some of the songs you will be recording, and paperwork that will need to be done to officially make you a part of Evolution Entertainment." Kakashi chuckled lightly at Tenten's obvious change in mood, "You'll have to excuse her, Hinata. She isn't used to being around reserved people. Please look over your contract carefully and call either of us if you have any questions. Otherwise, please get to know your new bandmate and feel free to make arrangements for your personal items to be delivered." He stepped forward and offered his hand for a business-like handshake. I immediately jumped to my feet, nearly dropping my mountain of papers, and shook his hand. Tenten snickered at my obvious nervousness, but I didn't take it as her making fun of me.

After Kakashi stepped out of the way, Tenten pulled me into a tight hug before rushing out of the room, but not before yelling, "You better sign those papers!" Just like that, the two older people in the room were gone and it was just me and a pink-haired stranger. I felt an awkward air settle in the room and glanced over to see her staring at me without falter.

I couldn't even make out a question before she rose to her feet and walked over to one of the two doors on the opposite wall and closed it behind her. There was a small kitchenette opposite the little lounge area, a door in that area which was half open to reveal a large bathroom, and two doors were across from the exit door that I guessed were bedrooms. I guess there was no going back to school for me. It wasn't as if I needed to go. It was the last week of school, after all, and attendance wasn't required to graduate. If anything, I'd deserved the week away from studies after years upon years of perfect attendance.

My nerves were shaken as I glanced at the closed door that the other girl had disappeared behind. She hadn't said a word to me. Was she shy like I was? Did she not like me already? Anxiety crept through me as I pulled out the contract and noticed immediately that it was for two years. Would she hate me for both years of our group's life? It was odd that our contract was so short, considering most talent agencies had their candidates sign on for ten or more years, but maybe it was for the best in case things didn't go well. I tried not to make any noise as I gathered my papers back into their folder and crept towards what I figured was my bedroom, the door on the right side.

Past the door was a basic female room with floral bed coverings and a vanity mirror. No other personal objects were present so I was correct in assuming that the room was mine. There was a large dresser, a desk, and even a keyboard with a bench. Some of my nervousness was replaced with happiness at the sight of the familiar instrument. Saving my excitement to play it for later, I sat at my new desk and looked through the contract more thoroughly.

Of course there was the legal stuff like not leaving the company before the contract ends or potentially face financial reimbursement and other preventative things that were to be expected. What I noticed that was different was the contract asking me to agree to wear clothing brands, advertise the agency in a positive light to all that may inquire, and participate in any interviews requested by the agency. I knew that agreeing to these things may contradict some of my personal views, but my thirst for fame was more important to me. If I had to deal with some ugly clothes to live the life I want, then so be it.

I quickly signed where intended throughout the contract and sat it to the side so I could look through the remaining papers. The schedule was for the remainder of the current week and the entirety of next week. The days were packed full of all types of activities and training. Each morning for the rest of the week I was to wake up at five in the morning, take singing lessons with Jiraiya and Tenten until noon, go to lunch and rest until two, take dance lessons with Tsunade until six, work in the studio with Sakura until nine, and then the rest of the evening was free.

Seeing as it's only Tuesday, I was preparing myself to be physically and mentally exhausted by the time the week ended. It was as if they were trying to catch me up to Sakura's two months of training in just four days. There was a handwritten note from Tenten at the bottom that said to drink lots of water every day while limiting my talking outside of practice to preserve my voice, eat and drink no dairy, and get plenty of sleep every night.

Despite my slight dread of having to meet up with Tenten so early in the morning, I was more delighted than anything that I would finally be getting singing lessons. Father had refused to pay for them even though I'd requested because he thought that music was a useless hobby. The next weeks schedule was quite different and seemed to hint at things getting more intense. I'd wake each morning at six to continue my lessons with Jiraiya alone until ten, attend some kind of public relations class until noon, have a lunch/break until three, then spend the rest of the day in the studio recording having dance practice with the full rest of the group.

My head felt faint at the thought of dancing in front of boys. I secretly hoped I wouldn't find them attractive so I could focus solely on my personal goals, but I knew deep down that it was useless. They were trainees to be performers. They would undoubtedly be very attractive. While I tried to guess what they'd look like, I sat the schedules aside with my contract and pulled out the remaining pages: our songs. I realized then that I didn't even know what genre of music we'd be representing. Upon closer inspection of the pages, I noticed that each song was different.

With excitement ever-growing inside of me, I realized that we'd be similar to Tenten where we don't have a set style of music. The woman was famous for being extremely versatile, and it would only make sense that the group that she's producing would follow in her footsteps. As a music appreciationist myself, I was happy that we weren't confined to a single genre. After looking through some of the sheet music, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket again and pulled it out to see Neji's name across my screen. I sighed and decided he'd be the easiest one to admit what I'd done to. With a nervous swipe, I answered the phone, "H-Hello?"

Neji's stern yet secretly concerned voice replied instantly, "Hinata where are you? You didn't go to school and your father has police searching for you." His deep voice didn't betray any emotion, but I knew that my father must've been taking his frustration out on him since Hanabi would be at school. "Neji, I'm safe so don't worry. Tell F-Father he can call off the cops." Neji paused.

It wasn't normal for me to be so vague in my replies and the anxiety I felt rising in my stomach caused me to blurt out what I would otherwise have trouble admitting, "I auditioned for Evolution and m-m-m-made it!" Neji would know what Evolution Entertainment was solely for the agency's impressive growth over the past few years. There was an even longer pause before he replied with a slightly lower voice, "Hinata you must be joking. Where are you? I'm coming to get you."

Even if Neji was the good guy from my family, he was still a Hyuuga. He didn't approve of making a living off of music, even if he didn't say it as disrespectfully as Father did. "I-I'm not kidding, Neji. I'm going to have my things b-brought here. I'm m-m-moving out of F-Father's house!" The pauses that the older Hyuuga boy offered were longer and longer, "Hinata, Hiashi will never let you stay there." The fact that he didn't say that I wouldn't make it in this business made me want to cry with relief. Neji was, in a non-creepy way, what I imagined my father would be like if he were more caring.

While he wasn't the most outgoing and emotional person on the planet, he had subtle ways of letting you know that he was looking out for you. "He doesn't have t-to let me do anything. I'm eighteen y-years old. W-w-will you help me get my c-c-clothes?" The whole conversation made me uncomfortable solely because it was untouched ground between Neji and I. I didn't think he'd reply at all, but after a few tense moments of silence, he sighed and whispered just in case someone was listening, "I'm only helping you this once because I know how unhappy you will be if you stay at home with him."

Tears welled up in my eyes at my cousin's kindness. "Can you come here before four?" I looked over at the clock that sat on the nightstand and it read three in the afternoon. I jumped to my feet and hurried towards the door with my contract in hand, "I'm leaving now, I think I can make it!" The burst of adrenaline removed my uneasiness and I hang up the phone before hurrying out of my room and towards the front door. After hurrying out and locking the door behind me, I turned to rush towards the elevator only to run straight into a hard figure and fall back onto my butt, my phone and contract falling onto the floor beside me.

I looked up to see not one but two insanely attractive young men staring down at me with blank looks. One was slightly shorter than the other with blood red hair, green eyes, and pale skin. The other had messy black hair, black eyes, and lightly tanned skin. The darker-haired one scoffed and let out an arrogant, "Stupid girl," before walking around me and continuing down the hall.

The redhead shook his head at the darker-haired one's rudeness and offered me a hand. It seemed as though I'd fallen more times in the past few days than I had in the past year. I gathered my dropped items and accepted his hand to get back on my feet. After smoothing my dress down, I turned to see the black-haired boy standing in the now-open doorway of room 113 with a mocking smirk on his mouth, "Do you always wear granny panties?"

My face erupted into what felt like the heat of a volcano and I felt the redhead's grip on my hand tighten as I swayed slightly.

I wasn't wearing granny panties!

I was wearing regular, everyday bikini-style underwear!

My vision was swirling as if a mist had formed in the hallway. Of course I'd have my first fainting spell in forever in front of two model-looking men. I felt my contract and phone once again slip through my fingers and my legs give out before everything went black. When I woke up, I heard hushed voices become quiet. My eyes shot open and I sat up with a gasp. I was back in the living room area of Sakura and I's room, laying on the couch, with the two men from before and Sakura herself staring at me from the dining table. Sakura avoided my gaze, the dark-haired boy scowled at me, and the redhead got up to come towards me. He leaned down in front of me with a blank expression before speaking in a surprisingly soft voice, "Are you okay now?"

His voice sounded soft in a shy way, but he didn't physically seem nervous, just uncomfortable. The three people in the room with me all seemed to dislike me in one way or another and it was slowly dampening my mood. The boys had been headed to room 113, which meant that every person in this room was part of our newly formed group. I let my eyes fall from the soft features of his face and nodded, rising to my feet. Sakura finally spoke up and her voice sounded slightly shrill, as if she didn't really want to talk but was forced to, "I called your cousin. He's gonna be here soon."

Gaara rose as I did and I looked around frantically for my lost items. They were sitting on the table in front of the more rude of the two boys and Sakura. A little bit of anger rose in me as I noticed the mean young man had been looking through my contract. I walked past the redhead and snatched my items from the table with what felt like an unhappy glare on my face. The dark-haired boy actually laughed at my angry expression, while Sakura glanced at him uneasily.

She, too, seemed unfamiliar with the two boys. Before anyone could say anything, there was a knock at the door. The redhead turned to open the door, but it shot open and a yelling Tenten followed in an annoyed looking Neji, both lugging large suitcases behind them. "Well don't expect to just be let into the building because you're a Hyuuga, you ass! You have to wait in line just like everyone else!"

Neji's annoyed expression loosened a bit when he met my surprised gaze. He ignored Tenten's complaining and stood straight in front of me with the smallest hint of a frown on his lips, "Hinata, may I ask you one time to return home with me for the sake of our family?"

His tone was extremely formal and I knew in an instant that Father had heard the news. Everyone around us was silent, even Tenten. I didn't hesitate or even stutter with my reply, "I want to be here, Neji. I'm not going." I didn't care if my whole group hated me. I was here because it was my dream to make music and not even the mighty Hiashi Hyuuga was going to stop me. The corner of Neji's mouth turned up slightly to let me know he was happy for me, before he pulled the two suitcases into the room and dropped his formal demeanor, "I brought as much as I could fit, the maids helped, but I don't think you'll be allowed to get anything later on."

I understood completely. There wasn't a chance that I'd step foot back into my father's home and he'd let me leave again. It was unspoken but understood that if I didn't return with Neji, I wouldn't be welcome back home. My father had finally had it with me. This was the final straw. I thought I'd initially be upset about it, but I felt quite the opposite. I'd finally be done with the Hyuuga and their perfectness.

There was beauty in imperfection and I intend on embracing it.

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	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you very very much for the reviews!**

 **I have noticed a few mentioning that the chapters are a bit short and I want to address that! This chapter is a bit short as well, but that's only because I don't think I'll be updating until next Sunday so I wanted to quickly get you guys something!**

 **I DO INTEND ON MAKING CHAPTERS LONGER PLEASE DON'T STOP READING BECAUSE THIS ONE IS SHORT!**

 **OOOOH BY THE WAY THE GROUP IS GOING TO BE CALLED: PRESTIGE!**

 **I want to also let you all know that I have decided to share some songs with you at the end of each chapter that doesn't have a song that our favorite group ever has performed! Feel free to discover new music or to just ignore it if you're not interested!**

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 **Enjoy the Chapter!**

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Once the suitcases were lugged into my room, we all sat down at the large dining table. I'd given Tenten my signed contract, which she delightfully snatched up with a wide smile before standing before all of us. "So I see you have all met each other already. This is Sasuke and Gaara, the boys of Prestige. Sasuke is pretty well-rounded in skill, but he will be the main male vocalist while Gaara will be the more dance-oriented member who will take care of any male rapping that may occur."

I glanced over at the dark-haired "Sasuke". He was resting his chin on his hand with a bored look on his face like he couldn't care less about this group meeting, but he had to have some kind of drive to be here otherwise he wouldn't be. He had definitely rubbed me the wrong way during our initial meeting, but maybe if I kept things completely professional with him everything would work out just fine.

I glanced back at Sakura to see her staring at me with a glare, which I met with a slightly confused look before looking over at Gaara, who was staring up at Tenten as she described the off-stage style that each of us would have with an attentive look. At least one of us were paying attention. I quickly returned my attention to Tenten when his sea foam colored eyes shot to mine.

She was saying that Sasuke would dress in mature, high-end clothes. Gaara would dress in "b-boy" style clothes which were generally baggy and easy to move in. Sakura would be dressed in sexy, girly, and colorful clothes. Finally, I would be dressed in soft, very feminine clothes. Relief flooded over me. Thankfully, the style she described was very similar to what I normally wore.

After Tenten's little public appearance speech, Neji was summoned home by my father and the two other boys had to leave to attend a dance lesson, leaving Tenten, Sakura, and I alone. Tenten glanced at Sakura and I awkwardly sitting across from each other for a moment before dramatically throwing her hands out, "What is the deal with you two?"

I gave her a look that said I didn't know either. Sakura, however, seemed to finally break from her angry facade. She sighed loudly before standing from the table and throwing her hands out to her sides, "We've met before!" Tenten and I both looked at the girl in surprise. Tenten shot to her feet with a hopeful smile, "You have! Are you guys friends already?"

Sakura glanced down at me, but her glare was gone. She, instead, looked remorseful, "No. We were bullied by the same person last year." All of the pieces came together when she ran a shaky hand stressfully through her shoulder-length pastel pink hair. She was the girl who's hair Karin cut in front of most of the school last year. I shot to my feet in shock, "Karin!" Sakura nodded with her face turning red, an indicator that she was trying not to cry.

Tenten's phone started ringing, but the girl silenced it and waited for Sakura and I to explain. Sakura's voice cracked as she filled Tenten in, "There's a girl named Karin at the school we both went to last year that would bully everyone with her boyfriend. They held me down and-" her voice trailed off and a few stray tears fell down her cheeks, causing her to turn her back to us and wipe shamefully at. I continued for her, remembering the day as if it were yesterday, "They cut her hair in the gym. She had to shave her h-head."

I thought about how Sakura had been stand-offish all day and turned my gaze down to the table before confronting her, "W-why have you been avoiding m-m-me if you know that I-I'm not like her?" Sakura turned slowly back to face us, Tenten observing us as our conversation continued, "I know that you come from the Hyuuga family. Everyone knows who you are. I thought that maybe you were a different person outside of school and would treat me the same as Karin had because no one here would stop you if you chose to." My face got hot and soon matched Sakura's in color, "I-I-I would never do that!"

I turned to Tenten, "You would never allow it e-even if I did want to, right?" Tenten looked uncomfortable under my gaze for the first time since I'd met her in person, "Well, you ARE a Hyuuga, Hinata. Just being a part of the agency is going to get us popular recognition." Tears leapt to my eyes and I couldn't stop them. Her words shed a new light on the situation. "A-Are you telling me that I-I'm only here because of my n-name?" Sakura's eyes shot over to Tenten with surprise that matched my own. Tenten put her hands up defensively, but her face held offense, "Absolutely not! Kakashi, and anyone that works here, would never allow this company to have it's success be solely based on a family name. You would not be here if you're audition didn't go well. All I was saying is that, now that you are part of the agency, we're going to do as much as we can to keep you."

The small part of me that previously believed the negative things that Father would always say about me also had trouble believing Tenten's explanation. What if I actually wasn't that great of a singer and they were just looking for a chance to make headlines? As I looked at Tenten's hurt expression, I felt terrible for my negative thoughts. They sounded like I held malice towards the company, but it was my own insecurity making me feel that way. Every person I'd encountered that represented the company openly showed interest in brightening my future, not their own.

Evolution Entertainment was known for having more "real" music than others. Artists were encouraged to write their own songs and help create choreography as well as try out their hands in acting, modelling, and hosting. My upbringing would've hinted at some experience in small portions of these things so it would make sense that they scouted me. Sakura broke me of my thoughts, "I'm sorry I was so prejudiced. I was just scared. Can we start over?"

I turned to the girl and wiped the remainder of my tears away, not being able to fight the smile that shot to my lips, "O-Of course! I want to be friends. I'm Hinata." I held out my hand, which she shook eagerly with an embarrassed grin hinting at the corners of her mouth, "I'm Sakura. I look forward to being friends!" With all of the dramatic emotions out of her voice, she sounded much more normal. Her voice wasn't soft or shy, but stern and attention-grabbing like she was a natural-born leader. Tenten let out a squeal and trotted around the table to pull us into a group hug, "I'm so excited for you guys! You're going to be-"

Her cellphone went off again and she let out an exasperated sigh before answering it, "This is Tenten!" There was a quiet rumble on the other line signalling that someone was talking, but Sakura and I couldn't understand their words. Tenten seemed annoyed and took a step back from us so she could lean against a counter and shift her weight onto one foot, "Okay! Ok-...Okay, I get it! I'm on my way, just calm down. Jesus!"

She hung up the phone and gave us both an annoyed look before gathering her purse and apologizing, "Sorry ladies, but it seems one of our other groups in training accidentally broke one of the antique vases in the lobby so I have some asses to chew. Let's all go out dancing or something on Saturday night, okay?" Sakura and I glanced at eachother like we would rather die than go dancing, but smiled as the older girl blew us kisses as she answered her phone that was ringing again. Tenten was a very busy young woman. She was four years older than Sakura and I, so she was twenty-two and already one of the most famous singers of our generation.

Sakura turned and grabbed a green tea from the fridge before heading to the lounge and flopping down on one of the fluffy beanbags, a notebook and pencil in-hand. I felt so much more relaxed now that the air was cleared with her. In fact, I felt as though we already had an understanding of eachother solely because we'd been through such similar terrible events. I headed to my room to unpack my suitcases after Sakura gave me another smile.

The sound of the television turning on caught my attention, but the girl didn't watch anything. She turned it to the higher-numbered channels that were music stations by genre, leaving it on the classical one and turning it up loud. She yelled, "Is this going to bother you!?" over the music, surprising me with the sheer volume that her voice could reach. I returned to the doorway of my room so she could see me shake my head before returning to the clothes piled onto my bed. The atmosphere was so different from my normal at-home one that I couldn't help but smile to myself as I placed outfit after outfit onto hangers.

It would be nice to actually feel the presence of my housemate. I could really get used to it. After about an hour, the tv turned off and Sakura arrived in my doorway just in time for me to zip up my last suitcase and place it under my bed for storage, "I'm going to go get some dinner with my friend. Do you want to come?" I hadn't been invited to a non-company related dinner ever in my life. My father didn't deem any of the girls at my school "standard" enough to be my friend, so I simply didn't have any. The stigma that all Hyuugas were stoic and unemotional, on top of my crippling shyness, sure didn't help convince anyone to approach me with friendship in mind.

I nodded eagerly and grabbed my wallet and phone before slipping on my shoes and following the pinkette out into the hall. As I waited for her to finish locking the door, I turned to notice Gaara and Sasuke walking towards their room covered in sweat. They HAD left earlier to go to dance practice, hadn't they? My fears were confirmed that the company was trying to hurry along my training. I was scheduled for multi-hour training sessions while theirs was only an hour, two at most. I remembered how I embarrassed myself in front of the two young men earlier and wanted to make up for it by reintroducing myself as they came closer. Sakura turned around only to gasp at the sight of sweaty, attractive men approaching us. Sasuke held a glare while Gaara simply looked uncomfortable.

I drew in my courage and managed to speak as they finally stood in front of us, "H-Hey! I just wanted to say sorry for earlier and t-thank you for helping m-me." Sakura looked at me as if she were surprised I spoke to them, but quickly smiled and turned her gaze to them as well, "We're gonna go get food. You guys wanna come?" There was a difference in the way we talked. I was very formal while she was relaxed. You could tell she was comfortable speaking around men and you could definitely tell that I was not. Gaara opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by Sasuke's deeper voice, "First of all, do not thank both of us for helping you earlier, little Hyuuga. I wanted to leave your ass in the hallway. You seriously couldn't even take a joke without fainting." I felt an uncharacteristic glare form on my face with the normal heat rising onto my cheeks, but he continued, turning his glare onto Sakura, who's face remained impassive, "Secondly, I'm about to spend two years with you three. I'm not about to spend my free time with you as well."

With that, he pulled his keys out of his pocket and headed into his room. Sakura turned to Gaara as if Sasuke's rudeness didn't faze her, "What about you?" It seems that she had hardened her shell to bullying after the hair-cutting incident. Sasuke's unnecessary remarks seemingly rolled right off her back. Gaara eyes widened as if he were surprised that the offer still stood if it was only him and not the pair. Sakura laughed light-heartedly, even making me feel calmer, "We don't bite, I promise!" Gaara looked a little skeptical, "I'm not sure..."

Sakura threw her hand out and linked elbows with him, "Come on, Gaara, it was Gaara right? I'll pay!" It seemed that she wasn't taking no for an answer so Gaara gave up fighting and silently walked with us to the elevator. Once we were in the elevator, Sakura removed her arm from his so she could press the first floor button, "So how old are you, Gaara?" His red hair was wild from his dance practice, but the look only added to his appeal. It wasn't that I had a crush on him or anything, but even I had to admit that he was an attractive boy. Sakura didn't seem to notice, or at least didn't give it away that she had. "I'm seventeen."

His voice was still soft, but it didn't waver or come across as weak. Sakura grabbed my arm excitedly, "No way! Hinata and I are older than you! You're just a baby!" She joked. I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh at the boy's bewildered expression. "I'm only a year younger than you. I'm not a baby." He honestly seemed offended at her joking comment. Sakura gently slapped my arm before letting it go altogether and laughing a twinkly laugh, "Little Gaara! We'll make sure to take good care of you and beat up any girl that tries to hurt you! Right Hinata?"

My cheeks heated slightly at the mention of my name, but I nodded in reply to the confident girl's question. It seemed as though she was teasing him on purpose to try and get a rise out of him. It was working. The boy's eyes looked darker and he stared blankly at the pink-haired girl for a few moments as if trying to figure out what was going through her mind. He eventually just gave up trying to come up with a reply, settling for a defeated sigh. The doors opened and we all trekked our way through a few hallways and through an exit. I was prepared for the paparazzi this time and covered my eyes with a pair of sunglasses.

Sakura simply pushed any photographers that got in her way to the side, strutting ahead of Gaara and I to hail a cab with confidence. I glanced over at Gaara, but his gaze remained on Sakura's back. She'd changed into a pair of expensive looking black overalls with a red bandeau underneath and red pumps to match. The girl had a good fashion sense, that was clear to the eye. She looked and acted as if she were someone of great importance, which is why paparazzi kept snapping photos of her even after she man-handled them out of her walkway. I was quite jealous of her demeanor.

We all climbed into the back of the cab that quickly pulled over for the gorgeous pinkette. Gaara sat in the middle with a look on his face that said he'd rather die than be where he was. After about fifteen minutes of light conversation, we arrived at a fancy restaurant called Mushu. I'd been there a few times with my family for business dinners, but hadn't expected us to be going to such a pristine place. Gaara must not have either or he would've most likely insisted on changing out of his sweatpants and t-shirt. Even if he was dressed casually, the agency had it's trainees dressed in only the best so he didn't stand out too much.

We stepped out of the cab only for Sakura to rush past us towards a leggy blonde that was waiting by the door, "Ino!" The blonde woman had waist length hair pulled up into a high ponytail, a dark blue strapless dress that looked like it'd been painted on, and extremely high black stilettos. It was Ino Yamanaka. She was a very famous model, making her debut at only fourteen as the youngest girl to ever be a frontman for Gucci. Gaara and I followed behind Sakura almost awkwardly as we were ushered past the line and into the VIP section. Once we were all seated and had our orders taken, Ino finally introduced herself to us. "So you two are in Sakura's group then? I'm Ino!"

I nodded with a smile, but Gaara just stared at her and sipped on his water. Ino didn't need us to reply to her to keep talking, "Sakura and I met about two months ago because we share the same stylist. How crazy is that? At least I know she has good taste though, right?" I nodded again, and Gaara still kept to sipping his water. Ino leaned towards Sakura, who sat next to Gaara, lowering her voice only slightly but not enough to soften the abruptness of her proclamation, "You didn't tell me he'd be so hot!"

Gaara started coughing as he choked on the water he was sipping. Sakura and Ino laughed, Sakura slapping his back a few times until he stopped. There was a very subtle pink tint to the quiet boy's cheeks, which the two talkative girls didn't seem to notice as Sakura replied, "You should see the other one! He's a god, I swear!" Gaara quietly stared at his drink, stirring it absent-mindedly with the straw.

I was silently aghast that Sakura still thought Sasuke was hot even after he displayed how terrible his personality was. I didn't mind not being very active in the conversation. It was enough for me to just be there witnessing everything. I felt so grateful to be invited and included that nothing would break my happy mood. The sound of a chair being scooted up to our table drew my attention up to see Sasuke himself, who claimed he didn't want to spend time with us if he wasn't forced to, welcoming himself to the table, "What're you talking about guys?"

Well, nothing could ruin my mood but that.

* * *

 **There it is! Please review/favorite/follow!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Here are a few songs that I REEEEEEAAAALLLYY like and would love to share with you all!**

 **I'm a fan of a wide variety of genres, including KPOP. I don't know if any of you like KPOP but there is a Korean TV show called Immortal Songs where not only KPOP singers but famous singers in general perform in front of an audience and get ranked. There is a singer named Sohyang that god damn SLAYYYS everytime she's on there. This video isn't from that show, but that's the show I discovered her on:**

 **watch?v=-G388dTAGOo**

 **I'm also a fan of classical music and the song that I had in mind whilst mentioning that Sakura was listening to classical music was this song by Peter Kater:**

 **watch?v=oTIHWX869WQ**

 **I'd be happy to hear what kind of music you all listen to and would also be excited to get some recommendations on artists or songs!**

 **Feel free to let me know who your favorite artist is!**

 **Thank you again for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **I'll try to update, WITH A LONGER CHAPTER, as soon as possible!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright guys here's the next chapter!**

 **I want to thank each and every reviewer, follower, and favoriter for their support!**

 **This chapter is a little boring, I think, but it's only because I have to introduce the busy schedule that Hinata is going to have for a bit.**

 **I want to be clear that the pairings are Sasuke x Hinata and Sakura x Gaara, despite what this chapter might hint at.**

 **I have an evil plan, you see ;)**

 **Please enjoy the chapter and let me hear your thoughts!**

 **Thanks for reading!**

* * *

All of us girls' jaws dropped at the sight of Sasuke. He'd appeared to have showered and cleaned up a bit before deciding to join us. Did he seriously act uninterested solely so he wouldn't be seen in public looking sweaty? Ino, who was by far the most successful out of anyone at the table, needed no other queue to lean forward with her chin resting on her hand and a smile on her red lips, "You must be Sasuke. I'm Ino."

Her voice was more sultry than before and the way she was leaning slightly forward made her cleavage stand out just for Sasuke's welcoming gaze. He didn't even bother hiding that he was checking her out, "That's me. It's a pleasure to meet you." Gone was the blunt and abrasive Sasuke and here was a flirty and charismatic replacement. It was as if he were a different person altogether! I glanced over to see Gaara's normally blank eyes glaring at Sasuke with annoyance. Did everyone have to have beef with each other all the time? Ino allowed Sasuke to take her hand and kiss it, but growled when Sakura yanked her ponytail and hissed, "That's my bandmate, you hoe! Off limits!"

Gaara, Sasuke, and I all held similar looks of surprise. There was no way an esteemed model such as Ino Yamanaka would take kindly to being teased. Said blonde expectantly pinched Sakura's cheek and made a face before erupting in amused laughter, "Sakura, you're such a cockblock!" My face heated up instantly. I was very unfamiliar with sayings like that for obvious reasons, but I didn't want the others around me to know exactly how inexperienced I was so I started sipping on the water that was placed in front of me to try and calm the nerves.

Sakura slapped the girl's hand away before laughing with her for a moment. Finally, our food arrived and we all ate while talking about random stuff. Well, Ino and Sakura did most of the talking, with Sasuke commenting here and there. After a few hours of hanging out, Ino was starting to get a little tipsy because she had not been sipping on water the whole time. It made sense since she WAS twenty-one.

We decided it was best to head back to the agency before it got dark so we could avoid rumors that we were out partying. Once our bill was split and paid appropriately (finally putting use to those Hyuuga credit cards), we followed the two giggly girls outside where they hugged and exchanged I love yous before Ino's bodyguard pulled up in a large SUV and the blonde girl was gone. Sakura hailed us a cab in a similar way as before and we were soon seated in a very uncomfortable car. Gaara was forced to sit in the front while Sakura, Sasuke, and I sat in the back.

Sakura wasted no time trying to talk to Sasuke, "I thought you didn't want to come?" Sasuke rolled his eyes, his friendly demeanor vanishing as soon as our seat-belts had clicked, "Don't be stupid. We're going to all have to be seen together pre-debut so our future fans will have something to talk about." That sounded like a stupid reason to me. He probably just wanted to see what kinds of friends Sakura had. The way he acted towards Ino as soon as he'd arrived pretty much confirmed that.

I stared out the window as Sakura held back a reply and settled on glaring at the back of the driver's head. Gaara remained silent as ever in the front seat. The rest of the ride was uneventful and we were soon back at the agency getting ready to turn in for the evening.

After Sakura and I took our respective turns showering and changing into pajamas, I sat at my new keyboard with the sheet music that Tenten had given me propped up where I could read it. Sakura was laying on her stomach on my bed with the same notebook that she was writing in earlier, just writing away with her pink pencil. I'd learned that she held quite a temper. She had told me while I showered (she was doing a skin-care routine at the sink, refusing to leave the bathroom despite my discomfort. Don't worry, she couldn't see me naked since there was a shower curtain.)

that she was trying to make a good impression on the boys since we would be stuck together for at least two years regardless of our relationships with eachother. She wanted us all to be friends and get along and I completely felt the same way. After reading over the first song's notes a few times, I played the melody slowly so I could get a feel for the note patterns. Sakura looked up from her notebook and smiled, "I didn't know you could play!"

I smiled to myself and continued reading the sheet music. Tenten had taken it upon herself to put notes on the papers with who would be singing where and what she would do if she were singing that part. I felt bothered as a thought crossed my mind. When my fingers stopped moving, Sakura looked up again, "What's wrong?" I turned slightly to face her, nervousness washing over me.

Sakura and I were going to be great friends and it was common to talk to your friends about your troubles right? "Do you think Tenten was telling the t-truth earlier? Do you t-t-think I made it in because they think I have talent or j-just because I'm a H-H-Hyuuga?"

Sakura clamped her mouth shut and moved to sit on the foot of the bed with her legs crossed, just a foot or so away from me. She stared at me for a moment before bravely touching my shoulder, "Hinata, Tenten scouted me a few months ago and I have spent a lot of time with her during my training. There's not a doubt in my mind that she was telling the truth. I can't say that I've spent a lot of time with Kakashi so I can't speak for him, but Tsunade and Jiraiya are also very honest people. If they thought you weren't cut-out for something like this, they wouldn't keep you here just because of your name."

She gave me a sweet smile and leaned over to give me a small hug before pulling back and speaking in a much more energetic voice, trying to lighten the mood no-doubt, "Anyway, let's practice this song if you're so nervous! I'd love to hear your singing voice." I was still stunned from how caring she was. At that moment I decided that I would never do anything to lose her friendship. She may be short-tempered and much more outgoing than me, but it was obvious that she was one of the most generous and sweet people I'd ever meet.

She wasn't afraid to speak her mind or stand up for others and I admired her for it. She sensed my hesitation and jumped to her feet to stand next to me, looking at the sheet music, "I'll sing the guy parts so I'll lead! Go ahead!" I turned back to face the keyboard, since Sakura had shown once-again that she wasn't taking no for an answer. After flipping the music back to the first page, I let my fingers dance across the keyboard to match what was intended on paper. After a short intro Sakura started absent-mindedly walking around the room and singing.

 _From the way you smile_

 _To the way you look_

 _You capture me_

 _Unlike no other_

 _From the first hello_

 _Yeah, that's all it took_

 _And suddenly_

 _We had each other_

I smiled at her singing voice. It was obvious to the listener that she'd been taking lessons.

Her voice wasn't soft, but it wasn't overbearing. It seemed perfect for pop or r&b music.

 _And I won't leave you_

 _Always be true_

 _One plus one, two for life_

 _Over and over again_

 _So don't ever think I need more_

 _I've got the one to live for_

 _No one else will do_

 _And I'm telling you_

 _Just put your heart in my hands_

 _I promise it won't get broken_

 _We'll never forget this moment_

 _Yeah we'll stay brand new_

 _'Cause I'll love you_

 _Over and over again_

 _Over and over again_

The time for me to come in finally came and I pushed past my nervousness and did my best to sight read the music, mimicking the notes that Sakura had sang since I'd never heard this song before.

 _From the heat of night_

 _To the break of day_

 _I'll keep you safe_

 _And hold you forever_

 _And the sparks will fly_

 _They will never fade_

 _And every day gets better and better_

 _And I won't leave you_

 _Always be true_

 _One plus one, two for life_

 _Over and over again_

Sakura came back for the next part.

 _So don't ever think I need more_

 _I've got the one to live for_

 _No one else will do_

 _Yeah I'm telling you_

 _Just put your heart in my hands_

We then finally sang at the same time, a nice harmony forming as the notes we sang danced around each other.

Whoever wrote this song was obviously skilled.

 _I promise it won't get broken_

 _We'll never forget this moment_

 _Yeah we'll stay brand new_

 _'Cause I'll love you_

 _Over and over again_

 _Over and over again_

 _Girl when I'm with you_

 _I lose track of time_

 _When I'm without you_

 _You're stuck on my mind_

 _I'll be all you need_

 _Until the day that I die_

 _I'll love you_

 _Over and over again_

 _So don't ever think I need more_

 _I've got the one to live for_

 _No one else will do_

 _I'm telling you_

 _Just put your heart in my hands_

 _I promise it won't get broken_

 _We'll never forget this moment_

 _Yeah we'll stay brand new_

 _'Cause I'll love you_

 _Over and over again_

 _Over and over again_

 _Over and over again_

As the final note was played, Sakura squealed with joy, "We sound so good together! Tenten was right about you!" She pulled me from the keyboard and to my feet so she could hug me tightly, "I'm so happy that they chose you, Hinata!" I felt tears well in my eyes at her kind words, but held them back in fear that she would be weirded out by my reaction and settled on laughing and hugging her back. After she calmed down we both lay on our stomachs on the bed and she showed me what she was writing in her notebook.

"Jiraiya told me to try my hand at writing songs so anytime I have ideas I write them down in one day I'll be able to put them all together and we'll sing it as a group." I looked down at the small sectioned off phrases that littered the pages. None of it went together yet, but I could see her effort. After focusing on our music for a while, she finally tossed her notebook to the side and gave me an evil smirk. I was confused, but she grabbed my hand and lowered her voice a bit, "So which one do you think is hotter, Sasuke or Gaara?"

My face felt hot and I knew it had to have turned red because Sakura started laughing, "Well I think that Gaara is boyfriend-hot. Like, you could totally picture him taking you on dates and buying you presents. Sasuke, though, is like the sexy vampire guy with a bad attitude from those Netflix shows that you just want to let ravish you." She started cackling at the rising redness of my cheeks, "Hinata! Oh my god you're so red!" I buried my face into the comforter in embarrassment and she slapped my shoulder playfully, "So are you okay if I try to get with Sasuke?"

My head shot up, "H-How can you like him when h-he's such an...he's an ass!" I felt proud of myself for being so informal. Sakura didn't take offense to my question and shrugged her shoulders, picking at her nail buds, "I think it's kind of exhilarating when guys act like that. It makes it even more amazing when you finally get them to like you." I was utterly lost. There was no way I'd ever find someone who talked to me like that attractive. Well, he was physically beyond perfection, but he lost his sparkle when he opened his mouth.

"I thought you said Gaara was boyfriend-hot? Why would you not go for him instead? Wouldn't he treat you better?" I was unfamiliar with the male-female dynamics that were necessary for sexual tension and my questions were out of pure curiosity at her mindset. Sakura didn't seem to mind my inquiries, "Yeah he probably would, but I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I'm looking to lose my virginity."

I literally fell off the bed. Sakura's hysterical laughs didn't even register with the humiliated haze that created a buzz in my ears. After I managed to pick myself up and sit on the side of the bed, Sakura's laughter died down and she wiped a tear from her green eyes, sobering up, "So you don't mind if I try, then?" I shook my head, still too surprised to talk.

My alarm went off at four in the morning, causing me to shoot up out of bed and click it off. I'd slept surprisingly well in my new bed and awoke feeling refreshed and eager for my first day of training. After eating a granola bar and brushing teeth, I got dressed in a simple black t-shirt and jean shorts before grabbing my phone and heading down towards the practice rooms.

My schedule said to be there at exactly five and I didn't want to be a single minute late. Upon arrival, I discovered that the room was the exact one that I'd auditioned in. Jiraiya was playing the piano absent-mindedly and didn't notice me there until I was right next to him. He jumped as if I'd scared him before letting out a boisterous chuckle, "Ah Hinata. It's so nice to see you again. Have you been settling in alright?" I nodded and he stretched his arms above his head before looking at his watch, "Of course, Tenten is late again. Do you mind if we go ahead and get started with some warm ups? We really need to get you on track with the rest of your band mates."

I shook my head to let him know that I didn't mind and he instructed me to stand with my hands stretched above my head as far as I could, "Good now notice how your ribs aren't sitting, for lack of better words, on your gut. This is how you should feel whenever you're singing. Having the correct posture will help you maintain healthy breath control. Now, drop your hands but keep your torso elongated as if they were still up." I did exactly as told and understood where he was coming from.

He then started playing running notes on the piano, instructing me to sing along to warm up my voice. I did as asked, only for him to stop me again, "Now whenever you sing higher notes, you're going to need to raise your soft-pallet. Go ahead and yawn. It should be easy since it's so early. Pay attention to what the back-roof of your mouth does when you yawn." I yawned, easily as he'd said, and noticed the soft part of the roof of my mouth stretched upwards. He smiled as he noticed I understood. "Now try to sing the higher notes again while keeping your posture up and rising your soft-pallet."

I did it and immediately noticed a difference in the stability in the higher notes that I sang. After a few more runs of warm-ups, Tenten finally busted through the door in sweatpants and a hoodie. Jiraiya and I both stopped to stare at her. She had sunglasses over her eyes. It was obvious that she was hungover from partying the night before. Jiraiya simply shook his head at her. Tenten popped some gum into her mouth before flashing a bright smile at me, "Good morning, Hinata! How did you sleep?" She tossed her bag and bottle of water on the floor near the piano before doing a few stretches.

"I slept fine, thanks." I was still kind of groggy, seeing as it was so early the sun hadn't come up yet. The taller girl's hair was up in a messy bun and she didn't have a single ounce of makeup on. I was astounded at how beautiful she was even with her hungover looks. If she didn't have the incredible voice that she did, she could've easily become a model. The partying the night before did little to dampen Tenten's ever-ecstatic mood. She gave me a quick greeting hug (I'd been receiving an awful lot of hugs lately) before standing next to me to finish the warm ups.

Jiraiya didn't say anything to her, but continued playing the piano. He didn't seem angry at her, but did seem to want to stay focused on our lessons. After finishing warm up, we all spent the next hours finding out where my range was, what style of music matched my voice better, and many other things. By the time the lesson ended, around noon, I was exhausted but felt that I'd improved by leaps and bounds. Tenten walked with me back to my room and stole one of Sakura's green teas. The pink-haired girl herself was out being a guest on some radio show in the area to promote our group's debut. We were set to perform in just three weeks on LMC (LIVE MUSIC CHANNEL), the biggest music channel on tv. I was to finish my training in two weeks, spend the first part of the third week promoting the with the rest of the group, and then that weekend we will officially be public.

I sat on the couch and munched on a salad as Tenten flipped through channels on the large tv. After settling on some random channel, Tenten turned to me and took her glasses off. Her eyes were dark underneath as if she hadn't even been to bed. "Don't judge me, Hinata. You are not gonna believe what happened last night." I stared at her as I chewed my food and waited for her to continue, "Well other than going to that new club opening on 5th avenue, I saw your cousin there. He was representing your family's company, of course, and I thought he'd blow me off because he was all business-y and stuff. He bought me a drink though!" I nearly choked, speaking through my mouthful of food, "He did!?"

Tenten's cheeks got slightly red and she continued with a reminiscent smile on her lips, "Yeah! He bought me a drink, we danced, we did some other things..." I did actually choke this time. Tenten laughed sheepishly, "Yeah, I'm not giving you the details since it's your cousin. I have a serious question though." After successfully dislodging the lettuce from my breath canal, I nodded for her to continue, "Are you going to be mad at you if I told you that I agreed to go on a date with Neji?"

My answer was instant, "Of course not!" Excitement rushed through me. Neji had managed to woo Tenten enough to get her to accept an invite for a date? What if they are great together and end up getting married and then Tenten will be my relative! I took a soothing breath. There was no need to get my hopes up just because of one date. Tenten, though, giggled and lay her head on my shoulder, "That cousin of yours is such a gentleman." I couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, he's the only n-nice one."

After my lunch break was over, Tenten went off to take a nap and I headed down to the dance practice rooms to meet with Tsunade for my first dance lesson. The room looked like any typical dance room: shiny black floor, a whole wall full of mirrors, and a sound system built into the back wall. She was waiting for me with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall with the remote to the sound system in her hand. Once I'd tied my hair back and stood before her, she pushed the play button on the remote before tossing it to the side and hollering over the loud music that poured from the speakers, "Let's start with some stretches. Follow my lead."

She led me through a thorough set of stretches that left me breathing hard even though we hadn't even started dancing. Kakashi wasn't joking when he said that Tsunade was the real deal. It was like she was an army instructor training her recruits, or recruit since it was just me. She yelled words of encouragement at me as we rose to our feet, "Good start, Hyuuga! Now just keep following my lead." The blonde woman began doing a small series of dance moves to the beat of the music. Despite my slight discomfort, I did my best to follow along with her. For the remainder of the practice I mimicked her moves to the best of my abilities as she gradually made her moves more difficult and intricate.

As much as I have been falling lately, you'd think I'd be ungraceful, but dancing actually came quite naturally to me. Once she'd turned the music off, my ears were slightly ringing with the sudden change in volume. I was dripping with sweat and my water bottle was empty. Tsunade looked unfazed by the hours of physical activity we'd just performed with few breaks. She stood before me before I could leave and nodded with her normal rough expression, "You're not bad, Hyuuga. Thank God, too, because I was going to be worried if you were. Tomorrow we will start learning the choreography for Prestige's first album."

With that, she strolled past me and disappeared into the hallway. Each time I walked through the halls, young men and woman from the company past by me. Some may work for the company while others may be trainees just like me. On my way to the studio (I had a map of the building), I bumped into Gaara and Sasuke. Even if I knew they'd probably be annoyed by my intrusion, I stopped in front of them and smiled, "Hey g-guys!" Gaara greeted me with a soft, "Hello," and the slightest curve of his lips that came the closest to a smile that I'd seen on his face.

I actually felt relieved that he wasn't glaring at me, like _somebody_. Sasuke was looking down at me with a scowl on his mouth, "You're so sweaty." I rarely got angry at others, but the dark-haired man just couldn't seem to say anything nice to me and I couldn't stop myself from snapping back at him, "Well that's what happens when you take dance lessons, Sasuke. If I r-recall, you were sweaty yours-self yesterday."

Gaara avoided eye contact with any of the people passing by us and settled for staring at the wall to his right while Sasuke very briefly looked surprised that I'd talked back to him. He recovered quickly, though, and leaned forward with a smirk, pretending to sniff at me, "Yeah, but I didn't smell that bad." Annoyance boiled in my blood and I felt uncharacteristically inclined to push the boy away from me. It wasn't like me to be so short-tempered, so I made my way out of the conversation so I wouldn't say or do anything that I'd regret. I forced a smile and started walking past the two, "W-w-well, I have to go meet S-Sakura. See you later!"

Sasuke let out an amused chuckle and Gaara gave a small wave before the pair continued to wherever they were headed and I continued towards the recording studio. Once I was out of the hall and away from any strangers, I met eyes with Sakura who was warming up her voice in one of the chairs beside the soundboard and sighed, "I-I don't get how you t-think Sasuke's hot. What a jerk."

I was quickly losing my stutter around her. She laughed and raised her eyebrows at me suggestively, "It's easy to ignore the words he says if you think about what he might look like without a shirt." I shuddered with a small blush before joining her to re-warm up my voice. We were recording one of the two female-only songs on the album. Once we were in the booth and starting, I didn't feel an ounce of nerves.

They really made it comfortable and stress free. We did a few takes of the song, called Hold My Hand, before Kakashi arrived in the room outside the booth. Sakura and I both greeted him through our microphones since we weren't recording and the man gave us one of his brilliant smiles. Sakura touched my hand to signal that she wants to talk about something when we get a chance to be alone and I nodded at her. Kakashi held down the speaker button and spoke to us, "Asuma here tells me that you ladies are doing great. How're you feeling?" My grin widened at his friendliness. Sakura replied quickly, "We're feeling good, sir! It's a great song so we want to do it justice!"

I glanced at her then back to Kakashi and nodded in agreement. He chuckled light-heartedly, "Well let's go through it one more time so I can hear where we are and then we can wrap it up early for the night. There's something I need you and the guys to do tonight." We both nodded in understanding before the music started again and we both did our best to impress the CEO. **(I don't want to put the lyrics to the song in if it's not necessary because I've read stories with lyrics in them and it gets annoying to scroll through song after song. I will, as always, put the link to the song at the end of the chapter!)** Kakashi clapped his hands a few times with a grin on his lips before motioning for us to come out of the booth.

We grabbed our items and stood in front of him by the door to the studio. He grinned down at both of us, "Hinata your voice has improved so much after just one lesson! And Sakura you're steadily getting better and better, as always. I'm very happy with the rate you two are developing. Now head up to your room and dress in something nice. I have some friends I'd like you to meet." We were ushered out of the room and we didn't need to be told twice to go clean up. I felt grimy since I didn't have a chance to shower after my dance lesson. Sakura was doing her makeup in the mirror as I showered, "Who do you think we're meeting?"

I rinsed conditioner out of my hair, already more comfortable with her being in the bathroom than I was the previous night, "I don't know. They must b-be important if he cancelled the rest of our studio time, though." Sakura sighed happily, "He said that the guys will be there so I'm going to make my first move on Sasuke!" I peeped my head out of the curtain to give her a look of disapproval, to which she laughed. After we were both dressed up and looking as though we were ready to meet the president, we headed out into the hall only to run into Gaara and Sasuke again. I couldn't tell which one it was, but one of them was wearing an intoxicating cologne that made my knees feel week with attraction.

Sakura gave me a wink after locking the door and pushed herself in between Sasuke and Gaara as we all headed silently towards the elevator. She seemed to be taking a more subtle approach than her friend Ino had and didn't cling to him or try to make him talk to her. Gaara stared blankly ahead of him, glancing every once in a while over at the rest of us as if he wanted to be sure we were still there. I stood on Sasuke's other side, deducting that the smell was coming from him. It was becoming more and more obnoxious how everything about him was destructively attractive except his personality. Why does everything about him make me want to do things I'd only ever dreamt of doing to Naruto.

I hadn't thought of the blond boy in over a day and it made me feel hopeful that I'd soon be over the decade-long crush I've had on him. We headed through the now-empty halls of the agency since it was technically closed to the public by this time of day. As we arrived at Kakashi's office, we were ushered in and the sight of blood-red hair and cat-eye glasses quickly had my blood running cold. I glanced over at Sakura in panic and her face had paled drastically.

Karin stood with her parents next to Kakashi with a smug look on her face.

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 **As promised, here are the links to the songs mentioned. Credits to the creators, artists, and producers of the music.**

 **Over and Over Again by Nathan Sykes Ft. Ariana Grande -**

 **watch?v=7uJ4kJiMUAc**

 **Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne-**

 **watch?v=cLyUcAUMmMY**

 **Did you notice that little NejiTen mention ;) They've always been one of my favorite pairs so I couldn't stop myself from putting it in there!**

 **Thanks again for reading and I will update as soon as I can!**

 **We have a long weekend coming up for Memorial Day so I hope you all have a great time with your families and stay safe!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I UPDATED QUICKER THAN I THOUGHT I WOULD!**

 **SURPRISE!**

 **I'm off work today and thought I would have errands to run so I wouldn't have time to type this up, HOWEVER those errands got cancelled due to the rain so here you go! For you and only you, my loves!**

 **Please enjoy this chapter!**

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"Prestige, this is the Uzumaki family. I'm sure you've heard of their glasses." All four of us silently bowed in greeting for the family. Sakura finally glanced at me out of the corner of her eye while we were rising back up. Most of the confidence I'd built in the past twenty-four hours flew right out the window with the arrival of Karin and her parents. Sasuke glanced between us curiously, but ultimately went back to listening to Kakashi.

"Their daughter, Karin, is debuting her clothing line and they have selected our agency to promote.I know you're all about the same age as Karin so I thought you'd be the best pick for promotion. Please introduce yourselves." Kakashi was being his charming yet professional self, having absolutely no idea that he'd welcomed Sakura and I's old bully into what we thought was a safe place. I briefly wondered what Tenten was up to since she wasn't here.

Gaara wasted no time in stepping forward and shaking hands with the three persons' hands and speaking in his usual softer voice, "Hello, my name is Gaara. We're all excited to work with you." He nearly looked related to the very red-headed family. Karin's mother had the same blood-colored hair as her daughter, styled exactly the same, but her father had light brown hair. It made sense for us to introduce ourselves in order, so Sakura was next up.

She took a step forward and spoke in the most unconfident voice I'd heard from her to date, "My name is Sakura. Nice to meet you." She rubbed her palms on her leggings before shaking hands with everyone. Sasuke snickered quietly at her nervousness. I was appalled by his insensitivity, bravely elbowing him in the side. His gaze hardened angrily, but he didn't show any other reactions because it was his turn. "My name is Sasuke. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Karin's taunting gaze briefly left their positions of jumping between Sakura and I and landed on the handsome man offering his hand. I could see the wheels of attraction spinning in her head. She eagerly leaned forward to meet his handshake, even having the audacity to wink at him. Her parents glanced down at her as if this were a normal reaction from her. Finally, it was my turn and I stepped forward, "My name is Hinata."

I didn't know what else to say and I didn't want to trip over my words trying to figure it out so I cut my introduction short. Karin shoved her hand into mine and held my gaze with her own cockier one for a moment longer than necessary. I pulled my hand away before she could do anything weird and quickly shook Mr. and Mrs. Uzumaki's hands before stepping back into my place. The atmosphere was tense for a moment as we all stared at eachother before Karin spoke up, "I want to take them out for dinner. Is that alright Mr. Hatake?"

She played the young professional role so well she could've won an Oscar. Kakashi glanced at us before nodding, "Of course, Karin. I think it'd be a great idea to get to know those who will be representing your brand." He turned back to us, "Please be so kind as to postpone any training you have scheduled so you can all enjoy a dinner together." We all gave different varieties of acknowledgement before Karin stepped forward and walked between Sakura and Sasuke, cutting our group in half, and leading us to the exit. I gave one last yearning glance back at Kakashi's office before following the others.

I didn't have my glasses with me because I didn't know we'd be leaving the building and the paparazzi took notice of who I was very quickly. We were swarmed immediately and I tried to lower my head to hide my face from the annoying flashes. My face felt hot and I suddenly didn't feel the rest of the group with me. I pulled my arms away from those photographers brave enough to try and force me to look at their cameras, but one just went for my hair and yanked it back. Unfortunately I wasn't expecting this and was sent tumbling backwards onto my butt. "Hey!"

I heard Sakura yell angrily. There was a loud _crack!_ that drew the attention of the other photographers and I looked up to see Gaara pulling Sakura away from the guy that had yanked at my hair. Her face was red with anger, her hand was still in a fist from the punch that she'd thrown, and I felt tears well up at her display of loyalty. Karin was laughing at me from the curb, standing in front of a large limo that her parents had gotten for her no doubt. I felt a strong hand grab my arm and try to pull me up. I nearly jumped, thinking it was another handsy photographer, but when I looked up it was Sasuke doing his best to actually be helpful.

He wouldn't meet my gaze, but held a menacing glare for the man that was now holding his bloody nose and cowering on the pavement. His camera had broken when he'd dropped it. I allowed him to help me up and brushed off my outfit before walking past the others who were still shooting photos. Sakura pulled her arm away from a concerned looking Gaara and rushed to link her arm with mine, "Are you okay? I should murder that asshole!" She looked past my shoulder to send the bloodied man one last glare before refocusing on me. My face was very hot and I felt light on my feet, but otherwise I was completely fine. We all climbed into Karin's limo. I sat beside Sakura, the boys sat on the side seats, and Karin sat by herself opposite me. Once the vehicle was moving, Karin finally spoke to us, "This is the last place I'd expect to see you, Hinata. Have you been hiding from me?"

Her voice was sickly sweet where it was obvious to anyone who didn't know the situation (Sasuke, Gaara, and partially Sakura because I hadn't told her any details about exactly what Karin and Suigetsu had done to me) that we were not friends. Sasuke and Gaara quietly watched us females converse which was probably the smartest decision. I felt Sakura squeeze my hand supportively and replied, "It's nice to see you, K-Karin."

Karin's fake smile disappeared and a sneer appeared in it's place, "Yeah, except it's not so nice to see you, Hinata. I heard you were trying to fuck my boyfriend before you left." Sasuke scoffed and couldn't seem to stop himself from interrupting, "We are talking about _Hinata_ , right?" Karin's gaze flickered to him momentarilly before returning to my face. She raised an eyebrow impatiently. I tried to defend myself, not wanting to let everyone in the car know that I'd almost been raped. "T-that's not true! I'm n-n-n-not interested in Suigetsu!" Just thinking about how unwelcome his lips were on my skin made chills run down my back. I felt all around unpleasant. Karin leaned forward, giving us all a clear veiw of her cleavage, "That's not what he said, you little skank. I could get you kicked out of the agency, you know."

Sakura spoke up then, "Stop it, Karin. We're all adults now, let's act like it." If the photographer from before's bloody nose wasn't proof enough that Sakura was holding back a lot of anger from Karin then I don't know what would be. Karin looked absolutely stunned that Sakura had talked to her, but changed the subject as she addressed the pink-haired girl, "Sakura, long time no see! You're hair looks amazing!" Every single one of us hated this redhead by now. Gaara and Sasuke were glaring at her angrilly and they didn't even the relevance of what she was saying.

Sakura clamped her mouth shut and sat back against the expensive leather seat, turning her gaze out the window and effectively ending the car-ride conversation. I squeezed her hand to let her know that I was here for her, and she squeezed mine back. I glanced over to see both of the boys staring at us curiously. They were obviously confused by how we knew Karin. After a few tense moments, we finally arrived at a sushi restaurant. It was a newer one that recently had it's grand opening. Karin lead the way in and the man that was at the door knew her by name, "Mrs. Uzumaki, welcome back! Would you like your usual booth in the back?"

Karin grabbed the attractive doorman's arm and gave it a seductive squeeze, "Yes, Kiro, thank you." I heard a quiet _psst!_ behind me and turned to see Sasuke leaning down slightly to whisper to me and Sakura, "What the hell is going on?" Gaara nodded and leaned towards us to listen to for our answer, but after glancing at eachother, Sakura shook her head and whispered back, "We can talk when we're back at home." Gaara nodded and returned to walking normally, but Sasuke frowned at us before turning his gaze back to Karin, who was now taking a seat at a velvet-like booth.

She sat in the middle so I sat on one of her sides so Sakura wouldn't have to and Gaara sat on her other side. After we ordered our food, Gaara surprisingly started the conversation before anyone else could, "Would you like to discuss your clothing line, Karin?" Karin looked just as caught off guard at his sudden conversing, but quickly recovered, "I don't really know much about it. My parents hired a team of designers to handle everything."

Sasuke scoffed loudly and we all shot glares in his direction. We didn't need Karin to return to her parents and say that we were disrespectful. "Don't you feel any shame saying that?" Karin waited for the waiter to set down everyone's drinks and leave before taking a sip of her mixed drink (No one would dare turn away her down if she wanted alcohol in fear her family would release a negative statement about their restaurant) and replying, "I don't know what you mean, Sasuke."

Sasuke glanced over at Sakura and I and both of us shook our heads to signal that he should stop talking, but he continued anyway, leaning across Gaara so he could steal a sip of Karin's drink. If the situation weren't more serious, I'd have laughed at how awkward Gaara looked. If someone didn't know what we were talking about, it would look as though Sasuke were flirting with Karin, but his words were harsh, "You should be ashamed that you're talent-less." Gaara nudged Sasuke away from him with a glare, which Sasuke nudged him back before relaxing back into his seat and sipping on his own, nonalcoholic beverage.

Karin looked offended, her plump lips frowning as she addressed the confident man, "I am not talent-less! My family is rich and fam-" Sasuke laughed outloud with no humor, "Being rich isn't a talent." Karin didn't have a reply to that and the table was awkwardly silent as we waited for our food to arrive. How could Karin not see that being downright awful everytime she says something makes her look so unprofessional? Once our food arrived, Sakura quietly asked me, "Why did you order a salad at a sushi restaurant, you dork?"

She said it jokingly, but Karin snorted loudly and cut in with food in her mouth, "Look at her again and ask yourself if she really needs anything but a salad." My cheeks felt hot and a lump formed in my throat that I couldn't seem to swallow back. I sat my fork back down and tried to blink back tears. What had I ever done to this woman to make her treat me like this? Sakura shot the meanest look I'd ever seen on her face at Karin and opened her mouth to tell her off, but Gaara cut her off, "I think Hinata looks great the way she is." Everyone's eyes shot to Gaara and I gave him a grateful smile.

Sakura still put in her piece of mind, "Yeah and maybe she just really likes salad!" It was true! I really did enjoy salad! The real reason I was eating salad is because I'd eaten more than I'd meant to when we went out with Ino and I was trying to balance my diet with vegetables. Karin gave a dramatic sigh when she realized that no one at the table was going to put up with her being mean and ate her sushi in silence. The rest of dinner was quiet and tense, as was the car ride home. When we arrived back at the agency, it was already dark and a majority of the paparazzi were gone.

The few stragglers that were still there took a few pictures, but kept their distance. I much preferred the night crew to the day. They respected my personal space. We escorted a defeated Karin back to Kakashi's office, where it looked like her parents were waiting for her to return. She and her parents left wordlessly, her parents being respectful enough to exchange bows with all of us. Kakashi waited for the door to close behind them to address us, "So how did that go?" Sasuke let out a light chuckle, "It was alright." We all slowly nodded in agreement, scared that saying anything would give away just how treacherous the night really was. Kakashi nearly blinded us with a dazzling smile, "That's good news, guys. Take the rest of the evening off and get a good nights rest. Thank you for your work today." We all said our goodbyes to him with respect before heading to the elevator so we could get back to our rooms. The second we were all in Sakura and I's living room, Sasuke bursted out, "What the fuck happened tonight?"

He was slowly losing his offensive outer shell towards us, but he was still quite abrasive in general. Gaara didn't say anything, but he stared at Sakura and I expectantly. Sakura started off, thankfully, "Last year, Hinata and I went to the same school as Karin. None of us were friends, but Karin was bullying both Hinata and I. Her and her boyfriend, Suigetsu, cut my hair in front of the whole gym." Her voice cracked as she talked about the tragic event. Gaara and Sasuke looked surprised, but followed Sakura's gaze to me as they all waited for me to add to what she said. I took a deep breath and had trouble bringing up the courage to speak up, "P-Please don't tell anyone a-about this b-b-b-because I haven't told anyone."

Gaara and Sasuke didn't say anything, but they silently seemed to agree, while Sakura held onto my hand and nodded. I closed my eyes and thought back on the past year of highschool, "W-well, most of the bullying was m-mental because Neji w-would always be around to make S-s-suigetsu scared. Suigetsu is Karin's b-boyfriend. On Monday, he got Karin t-to leave me a-alone and then t-t-tried t-t-to force me t-to..." Sakura's hand squeezed mine and I couldn't get the rest out. Gaara was the first to speak, "We have to tell Kakashi about this." The rest of us let out various noises of disagreement. Sakura spoke above us, "We can't do that or Karin will have this hold on us forever!" Sasuke spoke next, "We're not a bunch of cowards, Gaara."

He glanced at me and smirked, "Well, not all of us." I glared at him, but we could all tell he was just teasing me. Sakura rose to her feet and held her arms out from her sides, "We'll get through this! Let's just make sure no one is alone with Karin at any time so nothing happens that we can't stop." We all nodded in agreement. Sakura continued, always one to try and brighten the atmosphere, "Do you guys want to hang out or something?"

Sasuke looked like he was about to jump to his feet and leave, "Was that a joke? Why would I want to stay here when I could be doing literally anything else?" Sakura slapped his arm flirtily, "We should hang out so it's more natural whenever we're in public. You wouldn't want the press to think that we're fake, would you?" Sakura had done two things with that reply. She'd started her plan of getting Sasuke to sleep with her AND figured out just how to convince him to do things he doesn't want to do. We'd figured out early on that he was very aware of his image and intended to use that knowledge for our benefit. Sasuke shrugged her hand off of his arm and let out a dramatic sigh, "Uggghhh, you're right. What are we doing?" I stifled a giggle that slipped out at how smoothly her plan had gone.

Gaara stared at Sasuke and Sakura blankly as we all waited for Sakura to come up with some ideas. She quickly let out a devilish grin and squealed, "Let's play truth or dare!" Every single one of us immediately protested, but Sakura yelled over us, "We're doing it! Shut up!" She locked the door to our little condo and dimmed the lights, setting the mood as she claimed. I'd never been to a party so I'd never played this game, but I wasn't a complete hermit so I knew the rules. Sakura went first, "Hinata! Truth or dare!" I gasped in surprise. Why me first?! "T-truth!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at me, "Of course you'd pick truth." Sakura shot him a look before returning to look at me, "Who was your first crush?" Sasuke let out a tortured groan at the girly question. I felt a slight burn on my cheeks, "N-Naruto." Sakura gasped loudly, "Naruto Uzumaki!? You're kidding!" Sasuke's attention was drawn back to the conversation and Gaara spectated silently as usual. My face was burning hot as I forgot she'd gone to school with me and would know who he was, "Y-Yeah, I've liked him for years."

Sakura plopped down next to me and gave me a guilty look. I stared at her for a moment, waiting for her to say what she was thinking, but she just kept pouting, "What?" She buried her face in her hands dramatically, "I went out with Naruto one time." Hurt welled into my chest, but I knew that it was unjust. It wasn't like Naruto was my boyfriend or even really knew who I was anymore so I couldn't really rationalize my feelings of betrayal. I nodded and gave her a sad smile, "He doesn't even know who I am. Don't worry about it." I quickly changed the subject, "Gaara, truth o-or dare?"

He quickly replied, "Dare." Sasuke's eyes widened slightly, and Sakura gave a little holler, "Yeah Gaara!" I thought for a few moments, "I dare you to let S-Sakura do your makeup." The boy looked as if I'd just told him to drink toilet water. Sakura squealed and ran into the bathroom to get her makeup bag. Sasuke actually laughed out loud at him. We set a time limit of five minutes so we weren't here all night watching Sakura give Gaara a contour. She had him sit on the floor and she knelt down in front of him and started applying eyeliner. The pinkette was so close to his face that she didn't notice the small blush on his cheeks, but I noticed it and I was sure Sasuke did too. Did Gaara like Sakura or was he just nervous being so close to a girl?

He was only seventeen so he may be inexperienced with women, which I couldn't judge because I was pretty much a nun compared to most girls my age. Sakura was so focused that she didn't notice that she was so close her breath was hitting his face. My face was getting hot just watching the scene unfold. I glanced over to see Sasuke was staring at me and shaking his head shamefully. My face got even hotter and I spoke to Sakura so I wouldn't have to address him, "Sakura, o-only a minute left!" he broke out of her trance and backed up a few inches, "No! I only have his eyes done!"

She quickly flitted through her bag to find a soft pink lipstick that would actually look good against his skin before lightly applying it to Gaara's lips. Sakura then seemed to notice his blush and developed one of her own. It would be hard not to when you're literally touching someone's lips. Once the timer on my phone went off, Sakura came back next to me and slapped my leg playfully, whispering so only I could hear, "Dare me to kiss Sasuke or something." Gaara spoke up with his eyes and lips looking very luxurious. It didn't suite his serious demeanor which made it even more amusing, "Sasuke, truth or dare?"

Sasuke scoffed, "What do you think?" Gaara gave Sasuke an incredulous look before speaking up, "I dare you to give Hinata a serious compliment." Sakura laughed, "It's sad that you have to dare him to be nice." Gaara's lips tilted upwards slightly as he waited for Sasuke to do his dare. I stared into Sasuke's dark eyes and waited for him to say something. He silently stared back at me for a moment and I nearly shook when I suddenly felt very attracted to him. I dumbed it down to the fact that we were staring at eachother and it immediately went away when I thought about him making fun of my underwear when we first met.

His deep voice broke me of my thoughts, "You have beautiful eyes, Hinata." He said it so sincerely that even Gaara and Sakura were staring at him in shock. I could feel a bit of heat running up to my face and quickly went to reply, "Tha-" but he cut me off with laughter, "You should've seen your face, Hyuuga!"

My heart dropped and anger filled my veins. He's such an asshole.

Sakura didn't say anything to Gaara or Sasuke, but looked at me and smiled, "Your eyes ARE super beautiful, Hinata." I gave her a greatful smile before Sasuke cut off our friendly moment, "Sakura, Truth or Dare?" Sakura seemed annoyed that he'd chosen her because I couldn't ask her now. She answered quickly, "Dare." I felt like such a pansy for being the only one to pick truth. "I dare you to run down the hallway in your underwear." Sakura's face turned red with what seemed to be a mix of anger and embarrassment, "You just want to see me in my underwear, you perv!"

Sasuke chuckled, "We won't look! You can wear a sheet over you shoulders if you want." Sakura sat silently for a moment before huffing and jumping to her feet and heading to her room and shutting the door behind her. Sasuke looked surprised and whispered to Gaara and I, "I didn't think she'd actually do it." Sakura emerged with her pink bedsheet wrapped around her and her face matching it's color, "I heard that and I'm not a pussy!"

She unlocked the door to our room and stepped outside. Sasuke spoke, "Hinata, you watch her to be sure she does it." I jumped to my feet and peeped out the door if only to be sure that the boys wouldn't look. Sakura walked down to the far end of the hall, opposite the elevator and unwrapped her sheet to reveal a white pantie and bra set and sprinted down the hall with the sheet trailing behind her like a cape. To both of our horror, the elevator opened just as she reached that side of the hall and Tenten stepped out. The girl started cackling wildly and tackled Sakura, who was as red as a tomato.

Sasuke pulled the door out of my fingers and rushed out to see Sakura wrapped in a cocoon of sheet while Tenten lead her back to our room. Tenten shoved Sakura through the door and towards her room, still laughing loudly, "Let me guess, truth or dare?" We all confirmed her suspisions and she laughed even more wildly, "Without me!?" Sakura soon came out her room in her pajamas and we continued playing with Tenten as a new addition.

By the end of the night, Tenten had licked the bottom of Gaara's shoe, Sasuke had prank called Shizune's personal phone, I'd let Sakura try to spike my hair with this super strength hair spray, and many other silly things happened. As I lay in bed after everyone went back to their respective rooms, I turned onto my side and hugged a pillow to my stomach with a smile on my face. It'd only been a day and a half since

I'd met these people and I felt as though I had really good friends already. I felt happy for the first time in a long time. My phone lit up, signalling a text message coming in. I pulled it up to my face, ignoring that it was already midnight and I had to be up at four. An unknown number had sent me a message and my happy feeling ran cold as I read it.

 **"What're you wearing?"**

I was baffled as to who it was so I replied with a text, **"Who is this?"** only for the number to immediately reply, **"I'll give you a hint: We've kissed."**

It could've only been from one person: Suigetsu.

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 ***Grovelling on my knees***

 **Please review/favorite/follow!**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Love you guys!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm baaaaack! PLEASE DONT MURDER ME FOR TAKING SO LONG TO UPDATE! I don't plan on taking that long to update from now on, but I just moved! I just moved into my first house with my boyfriend :#) I'm so sososoososososososoosososs sorry for making everyone wait and I hope I haven't lost any followers because of it!**

 **FIRST THINGS FIRST: THANK YOU A TON TO THE REVIEWERS/FOLLOWERS/FAVORITERS! YOU ARE THE BOMB DIGGITY AND DESERVE ALL OF THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE! :D**

 **SECONDLY: I MADE A CHANGE TO THE END OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER IF YOU HAVEN'T NOTICED ALREADY! I was reading some of the reviews and it DID make sense that some of you thought that it would be stupid for Karin to text Hinata since that would be proof of her treating Hinata poorly, so I changed it to Suigetsu texting her. I've actually thought about how this will affect the story and I don't mind the change too much.**

 **THIRDLY: I REPEAT THAT I'M SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG AND DO NOT INTEND TO REPEAT THE LONG DISTANCE BETWEEN CHAPTERS!**

 **FINALLY::::::::::PLEASE ENJOY THIS UPDATE! ;D**

After reluctantly replying to the invasive species that was Suigetsu Hozuki I found out that he'd convinced the secretary at school to give him my cellphone number. I don't know how he did that, but that's what he told me. I didn't reply to him after that and set my notification tone to vibrate before finally getting some much needed shut-eye. My first official day of training had been a roller coaster. I'd definitely improved with my vocals and confidence in general, but just needed to make sure I maintained what I'd learned. I woke up with a start before my alarm even went off in the morning to Sakura looming over me with a groggy frown.

I let out a frightened scream, which she quickly muffled with her palm before I noticed it was just her and calmed down. She rumbled out an invitation to join her for some yoga before we both left to do our training for the day. I'd tensed up when I'd awoken and felt a lot of tenseness in my muscles from the physical activity I'd done the day before in dance and had no choice but to accept her invitation. If I didn't stretch out my muscles before the day began I'd be a train-wreck during my classes. I climbed out of bed only for there to be a knock on the front door. We both headed to the door and Sakura opened it to reveal an awkward, yet wide-awake looking Gaara.

She squealed and jumped to hide her body behind the door since she was only wearing a t-shirt and panties, "What the hell, Gaara!" I nearly laughed from beside the pinkette. Her face matched her hair and I could tell she was hoping he hadn't noticed her attire. It was obvious that he had. The boy's cheeks were noticeably tinged even in the dim lighting, but he spoke in his soft, calm voice as usual, "I heard a scream."

Sakura and I were both silent for a moment before I broke the silence, "Sakura scared me awake, t-that's all. Thanks for checking on us." Sakura gave him a sheepish grin around the door before waving goodbye to him and shutting the door. She looked at me with wide eyes and bright cheeks and opened her mouth as if she were screaming silently, holding the sides of her face dramatically. I giggled at her antics. We were much more awake now that Sakura had been seen indecent. Sakura sat out two yoga mats and put in a dvd that would lead us through a routine.

I started up some coffee as she unrolled the final roll and broke the comfortable silence, "Gaara's such a good guy." I nodded, "Yeah, he comes off as serious, b-but I think he's just shy." Sakura hit play on the dvd player and I rushed over to stand on the mat to her left. She didn't say anything else, but when I glanced at her she was deep in thought. Well maybe she just wasn't fully awake yet since it was only 3:30 in the morning. After a thorough and energizing yoga workout, we both drank some coffee and got dressed. You'd think that waking up early to workout would make us more tired since we lost that hour of sleep, but it did quite the opposite.

I left first, throwing a wave at Sakura as she yelled at me about not talking to strangers and seeing me later in the studio. I came face to face with Tenten as soon as I shut the door behind me and jumped out of my skin as she forcefully pulled me into a tight hug, "Good morning, little Hinata! Are you ready to visit the old man?" I lightly patted her back as she smushed her cheek into my hair, being much taller than me, "Good morning, Tenten." She pulled back and gave me a bright smile, "You didn't stutter! You must really like me."

She said it in a mock-flirty voice, even daring to throw a wink in the mix. I felt a very light blush rise to my face, but it was solely out of admiration. Tenten was an amazing artist, and I was finding out quickly that she was an even more amazing human being. Why wouldn't I like her? I'm lucky that she wanted to be friends, much less even be in the same room with me. The older girl gushed about how excited she was for her date with Neji all the way until we got to the practice room where we met Jiraiya. Apparently he was taking her dancing at the hottest dance club in town, Masquerade.

Contrary to it's name, it's guests did not have to wear masks. They held an annual party for famous people that WAS a masquerade ball. "I'm kind of nervous, Hinata! I've never been on a date with someone so formal before. What should I do?!" The girl was waving her hands about as she panicked. She stopped right outside of the training room and swirled to face me, "I know!" She grabbed onto my shoulders and I just smiled uneasily at the insane look in her eyes, "You and Sakura should come to the club on Saturday so if I run into trouble with Neji I can slip away and consult with my best babes!"

Before I could even reply to her plan, she let out a haughty chuckle and tossed a hand, "God, I'm such a genius!" She pushed the door open and motioned for me to enter, whispering so Jiraiya wouldn't hear, "Don't worry about not being twenty-one. I'll handle it." The older man seemed pleased that Tenten was on time today and wasted no time getting us started on our warm ups. The lesson went very well, with Tenten and Jiraiya reprising and pushing even further on the lessons I'd learned the day before. It wasn't easy to remember all of the little things that were necessary to sing in a healthy way that wouldn't damage my throat or vocal chords.

Like I'd said earlier, it would take practice. Jiraiya even graced me with what he claimed to be his life motto: Perfect practice makes perfect. If you don't practice correctly, then it won't be perfect. It was like a quality over quantity kind of thing. I'd also learned that it was healthier for your voice if you drink room temperature water instead of cold water. The only thing that I knew was that any water was tasting great after the amount of singing I'd done during practice. After that was over, Tenten had to head off to a photo shoot for some teen-magazine and I headed back up to my room to have a small lunch. I ran into Gaara and Sasuke leaving their room on the way and decided to put my best foot forward.

If I was going to be forced into one of Tenten's escapades, why not make it a team-bonding experience? Gaara, who seemed to be slowly but surely getting more comfortable around all of us, gave a small smile when I approached them as Sasuke locked the door. "Hello, Hinata. How are you?" I returned his smile and nodded to signal my well-being before glancing up at the cloud of arrogance that was Sasuke.

His pale lips were in that cocky smirk he always held and he rested an arm above his head against the wall, letting his eyes wonder up and down my body in a mocking flirty way. He was only doing it to get under my skin, and it was working wonders. Annoyance crept into my bones as I struggled to keep my smile genuine, "H-Hello! Do you guys have plans this Saturday?" Both boys' faces contorted into different degrees of shock: Gaara's more reserved and sincere, while Sasuke's was overdone and sarcastic. He moved to dramatically place a hand on his chest and gesture in the air as if he were performing a Shakespearean play, "How blessed are we to be requested by the Hyuuga princess! What could we mere peasants possibly have to offer to such a noble specimen such as yourself?"

Gaara looked as though he were trying not to laugh for my sake, but let a small cough slip to cover up his amusement. I ignored the sarcasm and continued with my invitation, "Tenten is going to sneak me and Sakura into M-Masquerade and I didn't know if you'd like t-to come. You k-know, for practicing hanging out a-and stuff..." My voice trailed off towards the end as I slowly lost my confidence. Sasuke stepped forward and held my gaze with interest on his features, "There's no way I'd say no to seeing you in an environment like that. Count me in, Hyuuga." He let out a boisterous laugh before walking past me and towards the elevator, "Gaara's coming too, don't listen to anything he says."

I glanced back at Gaara who gave a sigh of defeat before following after the taller male. After the two were gone, I headed into my room and put some chicken noodle soup on the stove to heat up, hoping the broth would help sooth any soreness my excessive amount of singing may have caused. While the stove worked on my lunch, I flopped down on the couch to see that I had double-digit text messages waiting to be read on my phone.

I'd left my phone in my room so I wouldn't be tempted to mess with it during practice. Over half of them were from Suigetsu trying to get my attention with crude and inappropriate conversation starters. It looked as though he'd given up around ten in the morning. One was from Sakura and immediately had me jumping up to my feet. It was a selfie of her and Naruto, which isn't what caught me by surprise. It was the fact that they were standing in the agency's lobby. I saw Shizune's stressed form hunched over some paperwork at her desk in the background. I quickly replied to her, **"What's he doing here?"**

She didn't reply, seeing as she'd sent the message earlier and must've been doing something important at the moment. I quickly checked my other messages to see a message from Neji, finally telling me about his asking Tenten out, and one from Hanabi saying that she'd seen a photo of me on a tabloid being pulled to my feet by a "super sexy model guy"(Sasuke). Our official group lineup hadn't been released to the public. The only person that had been confirmed was Sakura , who had yet to be shown live, only doing radio shows and magazines to help promote for our fast-approaching debut. I was definitely no stranger to paparazzi and their ways, but the photographers that waited outside of the building were on another level when it came to their drive to get a good shot.

I'd never seen such a blatant disregard for manners and personal space in working adults. As I scrolled through the news I actually came across the tabloid that she must've seen. There was a photo of me clinging onto Sasuke's muscular arm like a damsel in distress and looking at him as if the sun shined from his face. Of course that's not how it actually happened, but a good photographer knows how to catch a shot at just the right moment to make it look like something it's not. I looked at the sharp features of Sasuke's face. He was looking slightly to the left of the camera with that stunning glare he had and his jaw set in a firm line.

His muscles were flexed as he tried to help me up, only making him look that much more attractive. This person looked like a model, an actor, and a rockstar all at once and if I didn't know him personally I'd think he was much different than he was. I couldn't help but feel attracted to him, if only for his appearance. I'm sure there wasn't a woman alive that wouldn't feel at least a little attracted to him, though. I read the headline in shock: "A Hyuuga and Uchiha Merge?"

It was as if a light bulb lit above my head. His name was Sasuke UCHIHA?! The Uchiha family were very successful business people. They'd revolutionized many everyday items with technology that seemed like it came from a movie. While the Hyuuga's created the normal technological items, the Uchiha would enhance it in different ways to make it unique from other brands. Of course, the two families had contracts with each other and often did business together, but they had never even talked about attempting a full merger.

Once again, I felt like a total idiot for not knowing of Sasuke's lineage. Everything about him screamed Uchiha: arrigant attitude, jet black eyes and hair, and that famous Uchiha jawline. I'd never heard of Sasuke Uchiha, but I'd heard of and actually briefly met the famous Itachi Uchiha. He was one of the most eligible bachelors openly looking for partners. He was notorious for dating very high-end women, but never settling down with one. The way that Sasuke acted when any female other than Sakura and I was around hinted that Sasuke held a similar attitude towards relationships as his family member. I wonder how they were related? Before I knew it, my break was over and I was rushing to my dance practice on time, pulling my hair back into a ponytail as I jogged through the halls.

I managed to dodge each body that passed me in the hall and busted into the practice room only for Tsunade to immediately turn to me and start barking orders. It was as if she'd heard me coming. I scrambled to get into the position she wanted me to and she turned the music on. It wasn't as loud as it was yesterday so I could hear her more detailed directions, but I still felt the bass in my ribs with each beat. The singers on the song she was playing were just sample singers to show us how it should sound, but it was one of the co-ed songs off of our first album. It was called We Don't Talk Anymore.

The steps that Tsunade were teaching me were similar to that of a contemporary with a bit of hiphop. After going over the footwork with me, she pulled me in front of her and showed me where my hands should be before restarting the song so we could try to run through what I'd learned. My face was bright red and I looked at anything but her face as I did the steps as best I could, only fumbling a few times. Tsunade was playing the male part so she was directly in front of me, but the issue was that she was a bit taller than me and she had a monstrous chest! After an hour or two, we were finally finished with that song and she paused the music. I turned to her, feeling quite a mess with sweat running down my forehead and bangs sticking to my skin, only to notice her looking in the direction of the doorway.

I turned and saw Kakashi standing there with a smile on his face. "What can we help you with, Kakashi?" Kakashi gave that famous grin before stepping further into the room and greeting us, "I was just checking in to make sure Hinata was adjusting well. How are you, Hinata?" He had turned his gaze from his blonde colleague to me. I gave him the steadiest smile I could what with being in the middle of catching my breath, "I'm enjoying m-my time here, thank you! Tsunade is a great teacher." Tsunade glanced at me with a slightly softer than normal gaze, but quickly returned to Kakashi, "She is learning quickly. As long as she keeps up with her practice we should be ready for co-ed training by Monday, as scheduled." He seemed displeased with that answer, "Is there any way we can speed things up and have her ready for co-ed by the end of the day Friday?"

Tsunade glanced at me as she spoke, "If Miss Hyuuga is willing to come back for more practice after her studiotime, yes." I agreed without hesitation, wanting to do anything I could to make it easier for my higher ups. On a more depressing note, filling my schedule to the brim keeps me from thinking about things that would make me anxious, like Suigetsu having my phone number and the inevitable first meeting between me and my father since I decided to accept his disowning without directly contacting him. Going out with Tenten this weekend was also on the list, but much lower than the others. After exchanging a few more words, Kakashi bid us both farewell and exited the room. Tsunade explained to me that she could only fit in one extra hour a day for my training and it would have to be between midnight and one in the morning.

I was baffled since my schedule ended at nine, but agreed to the extra training nonetheless. I'd have to either set a loud alarm to wake me up for the practice, or I'd just have to stay up late for the rest of the week. I was leaning towards staying up late. I could use the time in between to practice or get errands done. Tsunade let me know that she wanted to start the practices today before turning the music back on and having me dance through the whole song with her a few more times to make sure that it stuck. After she seemed sure that I knew the choreography well enough, she moved us along to the next song, called Familiar. This song was odd for me because it was half in English and half in Spanish. I was in no way opposed to it, especially since multi-language songs were becoming more and more popular these days, I was just worried one of us would mispronounce something and be criticized by the public for it.

Regardless, the choreography for this song was heavy and sexy, like a more modern tango. When I'd looked over the sheet music for the song, it was mainly to be sang by Sasuke and I, while Sakura and Gaara carried the performance. We would all be dancing, but those two would be capturing the most attention up front. I felt a bit of relief at the news of Sakura being Gaara's partner instead of Sasuke's, but I quickly snapped out of it. It had to be because I didn't want her to be hurt by Sasuke. After learning the choreography for the first verse, very awkwardly because I had Tsunade as a partner, I ran through what I'd learned throughout the whole practice one more time before being released from practice to go record with Sakura.

When I came through the door of the studio, Sakura was already in a booth recording. She sang a pop-sounding song with just a hint of an anthem feel to it. I'd been told that we were all to have one solo song on the album, but had yet to look at the sheet music for mine. I had been so focused on not standing out as being the worst in the group that I didn't pay attention to what I'd do if it were just me alone. Sakura was breezing through the song as if it were written specifically for her, her voice dancing with the notes with passion and emotion. The way she'd sang when we'd practice the duet in my room was nothing compared to how she was belting it out here. Her eyes were shut as she let out chord after chord, looking as though she were completely lost in the music.

I felt pride swell in my chest. She was so versatile, it was impressive. As her song came to a close, she opened her green eyes and let out an embarrassed grin as she noticed me staring at her with stars in my eyes. Once the staff-member in control of recording let us know she was clear, I headed into the booth with her and couldn't help but gush at her, "You sound so good!" Her cheeks tinged a light pink and she giggled, "Really?! I'm so nervous about doing a solo! I wrote that song, you know." My mouth went slack and she slapped my arm with a laugh, "Stop! Is it good though, for real?"

I nodded with a smile. I was so proud of my friend for doing what she loved. We moved to record our only other female-only song, Heat. At the end of our scheduled time, the producers let us know that they wanted to record my solo and our parts in the song Over and Over Again tomorrow. We thanked the staff before heading back to our room, exhausted after the long day's work. When we got there, we both went to our separate rooms for some relaxation. I didn't want to tell her right away about my late night training so I wouldn't worry her.

As I played the notes for my solo for what seemed like the millionth time, my phone vibrated and I suddenly remembered Sakura's photo with Naruto. I stepped out of my room only to see Gaara, Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino sitting at the dining table setting up a game of Monopoly. Sakura shot to her feet and put her hands up in defense, "Wait! I was getting ready to come get you! I didn't want to interrupt your practice. Wanna play?" I nodded before grabbing a water off of the counter and sitting next between Gaara and Ino. The only other open seat was between Sasuke and Sakura and I wasn't about to get in the way of Sakura's plan.

I'd wait until it was just Sakura and I to ask her about Naruto. Ino gave me a smile as I got situated. I checked the message my phone had alerted me of earlier only to have anxiety roll down my back. Suigetsu had sent a photo of himself in front of the Evolution Entertainment building. It seemed as though he'd just taken the photo since it was dark, which meant he was outside right now. I felt the color leave my cheeks and had to place my other hand against my legs to keep from alerting the others of my panic.

There was suddenly a knock at the door.

* * *

 **HERE ARE THE SONG LINKS:**

 **Sakura's solo:**

 **Sirens-Cher Lloyd: watch?v=gvW08ALArVI**

 **Songs we learned choreography for in this chapter:**

 **Familiar-Liam Payne and J Balvin: watch?v=6iB0nMS97dQ**

 **We Don't Talk Anymore- Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez: watch?v=2FuHbch1dFI**

 **BELOW IS THE FULL SONG LIST FOR PRESTIGE'S FIRST ALBUM:**

 **Prestige: Debut**

 **Maroon 5/Rihanna- Never See Your Face Again-ALL**

 **Olly Murs/Demi Lovato- Up-ALL**

 **Kelly Clarkson-Heat- SAKU X HINA**

 **5sos-youngblood-SASU X GAA**

 **Ariana Grande-over and over again-ALL**

 **Liam Payne/Jbalvine-Familiar-ALL**

 **Jess Glenne-Hold My Hand- SAKU X HINA**

 **Conor Maynord/CashCash-All My Love-SASUKE SOLO**

 **Horrorshow-Cherry Blossoms-GAARA SOLO**

 **Cher Lloyd- Sirens-SAKURA SOLO**

 **Avicii-Feeling Good-HINATA SOLO**

 **Charlie Puth/Selena Gomez-We don't talk anymore-ALL**


	8. Chapter 8

**WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! MATURE THEMES IN THIS CHAPTER!**

 **I want to be clear when I say that not every chapter is going to be as dramatic as this one! A lot happens here that is important to the story.**

 **Thank you, as always, to my faithful reviewers:**

 **10ShizukaYuukiMistress10**

 **IridescentInTheDark**

 **pinksakura271**

 **FallenInDreams**

 **dzii00**

 **Sakura-Fairy-Tail**

 **jacpin2002**

 **tanuki**

 **It's much easier to feel motivated to update when you have such amazing followers blessing you with each chapter! I appreciate the support!**

 **Please enjoy the story! I intend to update in about a week, so please be patient and careful!**

* * *

My phone slid through my fingers and landed on the table with a loud thud. Everyone turned to look at me, which had me fumbling to recollect my device before anyone could see the photo being displayed on it's screen. I wasn't quite quick enough to triumph over Ino's manicured hand, and even backed off a bit when I took note of her pointed nails. She snatched up my phone like it was the last roll on a buffet and she hadn't eaten for weeks.

She let out a delighted squeal, "Hinata! Who the hell is this?!" She gave me a wink, only to have Sakura rip the phone from the blond's hands so she could see for herself what the commotion was all about. Her jaw dropped when she lay eyes on one of her previous tormentors. Her steely gaze shot to my own wary one in confusion only to be redirected as whoever was at the door knocked again.

Sasuke rose to his feet to answer it and I couldn't stop myself from shooting to my feet to grab his arm. The fear that was running through my veins at facing the man who tried to, and undoubtedly would have, take advantage of me without consent fueled my actions. Sasuke froze and he looked down at me in surprise. Everyone at the table stood as it became obvious that something was wrong. My whole body felt ice cold, but I couldn't give Sasuke a vocal reason for my actions. All I could do is watch as the doorknob slowly turned. My grip tightened on Sasuke's sleeve and he actually moved to move in between the door and my body as if he were actually concerned, only to be interrupted by the door flying open to let an annoyed Tenten stomp through, "Are you all deaf? I've been knocking forever!"

All of the fear left my body and I quickly removed my hand from Sasuke's arm. Tenten, being blissfully unaware of the tension in the room, flounced into the kitchen to grab a snack while playing with her phone. Everyone else was still staring at me. I stepped back from the taller male, who had yet to do anything but stare at me quizzically, only to feel Sakura grab my arm and start pulling me toward my bedroom. She reassured everyone that we'd be right back. Once we were behind my closed door, she flashed the photo in my face and whispered angrily, "Why the hell are you receiving texts from him?!"

She stole another glance at the photo only to notice where he was in the photo and have her face lose it's color, "Oh my god, he's here! What should we do? Does Karin know he's here? Is she here too!" Tears started falling before I could stop them and I sat defeatedly on my bed while she paced back and forth in front of me, endless questions being whispered in disarray to herself.

It seemed as though she were trying to come up with scenarios in her head on how to be rid of him. I struggled to explain, "I-I-I don't know..." The confidence I'd been building up over the past few days was struggling to stay intact. Not only was Suigetsu somewhere in this building, but I'd made a fool of myself in front of everyone by latching onto Sasuke. How was I supposed to face him now! He'd never let me live it down. Sakura seemed to notice my panic and seemingly read my mind. She took a calming breath and silenced her own anxiety to try and appease mine, a feat that I was grateful for, "Don't worry about it. We'll explain what's going on and they'll understand."

The bedroom door opened without anyone knocking only to reveal all four of our room-guests leaning in as if they were eavesdropping. Gaara was the one who broke the awkward silence, "Explain what to us?" Tenten shoved past the other three so she could sit next to me on the bed and force me to lean onto her shoulder, "Who hurt you, Hinata? I'll kill them." I desperately avoided Sasuke's inquisitive gaze and wiped at the pesky tears that continued to fall, "S-S-Suigetsu is h-here." Everyone went silent for a moment, but Gaara again saved the atmosphere, "Karin's boyfriend that tried to-"

Sakura put a hand on his shoulder to stop him from continuing, not wanting to make the situation worse by mentioning such a topic, "Tenten you need to convince Kakashi to ban him from the agency. We can't do anything about Karin because of her name, but Suigetsu has no business here." Tenten ran a hand absently over my hair, attempting to sooth me. It kind of worked after a while and I finally forced myself to stop crying. Ino left briefly only to return with a tissue and my water. I gratiously accepted them and Tenten used her now-free hands to pull out her phone, "Fuck going to Kakashi, I'm calling Shizune right now."

She rose to her feet and walked a few feet away so Shizune wouldn't hear us in the background, however the line went straight to Shizune's voicemail. The pop star smacked herself on the forehead as if she'd forgotten something, "Crap, it's Wednesday. She and Tsunade go to the casino on Wednesday nights. So that's why Tsunade wanted to wait until later to practice. She had previous arrangements. Ino grabbed onto Sasuke and Gaara's arms and started pulling them out towards the door, "Well if the staff can't take care of one creep, we've got two big and strong men here that can handle it."

I jumped to my feet and Sakura stepped forward to let out various noises of disagreement. The three looked back at us and Sakura said what we were both thinking, "We're not going to let you guys potentially get into trouble for us. We'll all go down to the lobby together to confront him." Okay, so I wasn't thinking the second part. If it were up to me, I'd hide in my room all night and wait for him to give up. Tenten let out a warrior yell and ushered us all out into the hallway where we could start our search for the vermin that was Suigetsu.

Since it was already eleven at night, all of the lights were off downstairs in the non-living area. Once we were in the elevator, Tenten started barking out orders as if she were familiar with this type of situation. "We should break into three teams of two. I have pepper spray so someone should come with me and the other two groups should have one guy in each." The floor-level of the agency was beyond huge and it looked like a maze with little to no lighting. We all had our cellphones on us to use as flashlights. Tenten latched arms with Ino, "We should go together because they need to work on teamwork, in a serious situation like this or not."

Ino pouted and glanced over at Sasuke and Gaara longingly. She'd obviously wanted to use this mission as a way to get some male attention, but she didn't argue and stuck her tongue out at Sakura for being so lucky as to partner with a male. Sakura quickly chirped out, "I'll go with Sasuke!" Gaara and I looked over at her in shock of her obviousness. If I didn't know any better I would say Gaara even looked a little disappointed. Sasuke just shrugged and listened as Tenten gave us some final instructions, "Okay call as soon as you see anything! If you have to get physical with him, do it. I'll cover your asses if he tries to get you in trouble."

With an uncharacteristically cheesy hand pile and a 1! 2! 3! Let's do it! we were all on our way to locate and remove the impostor.

 **-With Sakura-**

If Suigetsu thinks he's going to lay so much as a finger on Hinata, I'm going to bury him alive! Despite my blood boiling in rage, I walked silently next to the man candy that was Sasuke Uchiha with my cellphone light checking every corner and crevice we passed. It was so out of character for him to be going along with all of this without so much as one complaint. I stole a glance at his profile as he searched further ahead. Sasuke's pitch black eyes were in a serious glare that had my stomach turning with excitement. His tan skin was so clean and clear and that Uchiha jawline pulled in so much temptation to be kissed or more.

I felt a small blush start to rise to my face and had to look away before my thoughts became even more impure. He spoke suddenly, making me physically jump at the sudden noise, "Enjoying the show?" My blood boiled even hotter. There was something so sexual about being so attracted to him and so annoyed at him at the same time, "I suppose I am." _OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST SAID THAT! You go, Sakura!_

Sasuke glanced down at me with a small smirk on his oh-so-yummy looking lips. God damn, I have to get laid soon or I'm going to be an unproductive blob of horny teenager. "Flattery won't get you very far, Sakura." My body felt cold. Did he know what I was trying to do? If he was going to shoot me down, I would rather him shoot me down with all of my cards on the table, not just a hint. I built up as much courage as I could and stopped walking, shoving him lightly against the wall.

He didn't seem surprised and let himself lean back, a knowing look on his smug face. I reached my free hand up and pulled his head down to shove my lips passionately against his. He allowed me to do what I wanted for a moment, but didn't react in any way other than kissing me back. He didn't move his hands to touch my body and he was obviously not on the same level of passion as I was. Despite this, the short make-out session I forced him into was pleasing. Sasuke Uchiha was a hell of a kisser. His lips danced skillfully over mine as if he was calculating each movement.

The warm feeling in the pit of my stomach was getting tighter and more prominent, but something was off. Something didn't feel right, but I pulled back from his lips slightly to give him my speech anyway. His hot breath splayed across my face as he listened silently, "I don't want to date you, Sasuke. I just want to sleep with you." He didn't reply instantly, so I took it as a sign to continue, "It won't affect our teamwork and I won't be angry if you get a girlfriend and want to stop." I must've sounded much older than I was. What eighteen year old young woman ASKS for a friends-with-benefits relationship?

Sasuke pushed me gently away from him and when I saw his face I felt my legs grow weak. His eyes held a carnal desire that I'd never seen directed towards me by anyone. "We shouldn't do this." His words didn't match his obvious physical reaction. His voice was raspy with emotion, only making it harder to resist pulling him into one of the side offices and attacking him. My skin felt hot and I was finding it hard to focus on anything other than my sexual attraction to the man in front of me, "Why not, Sasuke? You obviously want to."

I tried to lean forward to kiss him again, only for him to put his hands on my shoulders so he could hold me at bay, "Sakura, you're obviously a virgin. I may be an asshole, but I'm not that much of an asshole." The horny feeling in my stomach vanished and a shocked laugh slipped past my lips, "Excuse me?" I pulled away from him and took a step back, trying not to feel hurt by his blatant rejection and failing, "Am I not good enough for you, Uchiha, is that it? Do you only sleep with experienced girls?"

Sasuke straightened himself out and refocused his phone's light on the hallway, getting back to our primary mission but still replying, "I'm doing you a favor. Besides, I've got a thing for girls with dark hair." The hurt was easily overshadowed by shock as I took a few quick steps to catch up to him, "Like Hinata?" There was no way in hell he liked Hinata! It's not that she wasn't a complete catch because she was, but she's the exact opposite of what anyone on Earth would expect an Uchiha to be interested in. She was far too sweet and pure for him. Sasuke let out a scoff, "Please! Hinata will probably die a virgin."

I didn't push his limits with further questions. He didn't say yes to my question, but he didn't say no either.

 **-With Tenten-**

What Sakura didn't know was that Ino and I were completely aware of Sakura's plans for Sasuke. It says in the contract that band-mates aren't to have intimate relations, but as long as Kakashi and the public didn't find out, no harm done! Ino snickered, "Sakura just texted me! She got rejected!" The blond let out a cackle that could scare even a demon. Instead of judging her, I joined her in cackling. This seemed to be a great start to yet another friendship! We eventually both settled down, only for Ino to whisper in a gossipy tone, "You know Gaara is head over heels for Sakura, right?"

I snickered, "Of course he is! That's why I'm so happy she got rejected!" Gaara deserved someone like Sakura after all that he's been through. His parents both died in a car wreck when he was just a toddler and his older siblings struggled to take care of him growing up. Temari, his older sister, actually went to high-school with me. We were friends back then, but I hadn't heard anything from her until she and her brother started harassing the agency to get Gaara and audition. They'd called everyday for two months and even showed up in person once every week or so to try and get him in.

His brother, Kankuro, who was much older than his two siblings, had had some run-ins with the law a few years back for getting caught dealing drugs trying to make ends meet at home. Temari had assured us that he, and the rest of the family for that matter, had never partaken in the use of illegal substances, but simply dealt it for the money. Their efforts had been kept a secret from Kakashi by the old secretary, Kagura, because she was trying to help the company's image. The moment I found out about the Subaku's I went to Kakashi and demanded he at least let him audition.

You could say I scouted him, for Kakashi does. Unfortunately for Kagura, she was let go because it was part of her job to pass along applicant information and it seemed that hundreds of others besides Gaara's had been withheld as well. She had good intentions, but it wasn't her place. Shizune had been referred to Kakashi by Tsunade, being her best friend since grade school and the rest is history. The moral of the story is: Gaara deserves a good girl. I was actually taking Gaara out for lunch one day at a karaoke restaurant and we'd overheard Sakura singing as we passed by the room her family had rented out for her birthday. I didn't care to be caught being nosy and opened the door so I could see what she looked like and when Gaara laid eyes on her, I knew I had to recruit her. Ino linked arms with me and snickered to herself.

I had told her about my date with Neji on Saturday and how everyone would be coming. She agreed to tag along and we'd come up with a plan to get Sakura and Hinata drunk as fuck and then leave them with the boys. Nothing creates bonds faster than getting plastered together! I joined in with Ino's now maniacal laughter and we continued searching for that Suigetsu creep.

 **-With Hinata-**

Gaara and I crept through the dark halls in a comfortable silence. He wasn't much of a talker, and I wasn't much for forcing someone into conversation. The hallways seemed endless and it didn't take long for us to run into a set of restrooms. Gaara excused himself momentarily to use the restroom. I leaned against the wall a few feet away from the door and stared at the ground.

There was no doubt in my mind that Sakura was making her move somewhere in these winding halls. It became obvious to me that she may actually succeed. There was jealousy running through my blood and I was almost tempted to admit that I'd like to lose my virginity, too, but the second I thought that thought, my face heated and Naruto's face arose in my mind. I closed my eyes to take a deep breath and calm my hormones, only to feel someone's hand clamp over my mouth. My phone slipped through my fingers in shock and landed with a thud on the carpet.

Another hand pulled my hands and forced me against the body it belonged too. I tried to scream, but the sound was muffled against the person's skin. My eyes shot open as I was being pulled away with haste. Suigetsu's familiar white hair caught my eye, but I couldn't see his face since he was holding me forcefully against him. I tried kicking him and biting, but nothing seemed to work. I heard Gaara suddenly yell out my name in the distance as he no doubt discovered my abandoned phone and tried as hard as I could to get away.

My knee clipped my captor's private parts and he moved his hand from my mouth slightly in pain, "Bitch!" He whispered under his breath. I took a deep breath and let out the loudest scream I could to try and alert my friends of my location. Suigetsu slapped his hand back down over my mouth, which hurt quite a bit more than the first time he'd done it. It was clear that he was losing his patience. Before anyone could find us, he pulled us through a random office door and locked it behind us. There was no window and I feared that I'd never be found.

Tears were pouring from my eyes, sweat running down the side of my face, and my vision was becoming more and more blurred as I felt an incoming anxiety attack. I was tossed unceremoniously to the ground. Before I could move or make a noise I heard the undeniable sound of a pocketknife opening. I turned my head to see Suigetsu holding a four inch knife not two inches away from my leg, "Scream and I'll cut."

There was only the light from the analog clock on the desk of the office, but it was enough to see the insane look on his face. He was dead serious. I nodded slowly, letting him know that I wasn't going to make a sound. He roughly yanked my arm, which caused me to fall flat on my back on the floor. He moved the knife up to my neck as he straddled my hips, whispering, "Why didn't you text me back?"

I tried to reply, "I d-don't-" He cut me off by pushing the knife dangerously against my neck, not drawing blood but very close to it, "I said to keep your mouth shut!" My eye caught sight of my sandal, which had fallen off during our struggle, just outside from the small crack under the door and felt a small sliver of hope form. I'd just have to listen for footsteps and be sure to make noise when I do. I wouldn't be able to hear anyone with Suigetsu constantly talking so I took a deep breath and nodded, following what I've seen people do in movies before they kiss.

Tears were pouring from my eyes with dread, but I knew that if I could just keep him quiet, kissing him would be the only thing I'd have to do and then I'd be saved. I looked back and forth between his angry gaze and his lips, trying to tempt him to kiss me so I could keep him quiet. "What's wrong, Hinata? Did you miss me?" He quickly leaned in, moving the knife to the side of my face so it wouldn't get in his way.

He held himself up with his other arm, but held my arms to my sides with his knees on top of my hands. I let out a painful cry as his weight crushed down on my palms, but he quickly silenced it by slipping his tongue down my throat. There was a taste of alcohol on him that I hadn't picked up the scent of. Suigetsu was drunk. There was no other logical reason that he'd break into a multi-million dollar agency just to try and rape one of their recruits. I did my best not to react to him, not moving my mouth at all, but it didn't seem to faze him. After about a minute of him pressing himself against me and molesting my mouth, I finally heard footsteps. I quickly shot one of my knees up to hit him in the back, which had him pulling his lips away in anger, "I know you're eager, baby, but we should savor the moment."

I started screaming, only for him to replace his lips over mine. It had done the trick, though. I saw three pairs of feet stop outside the door. The door handle jiggled as they tried to open the door, and I faked a cry to try and mask the sound. Suigetsu took that as a sign of me being turned on and tossed the knife a few feet away. He released my hands from their hold under his knees and held them above my head with one hand. He forced himself in between my legs and let his free hand wonder about my body. I couldn't see anything anymore and was on the edge of unconsciousness as he moved his lips from my own and down to my neck.

He sucked and bit at my neck, pulling various noises of discomfort from me. His free hand suddenly moved down to rub the front of my shorts. The haze over my vision didn't lift, but my energy doubled with the panic that rushed over my skin. I could help but plead with him, "P-Please! Stop!" He let out a devilish chuckle against my neck before moving to unbutton my shorts, "I'm going to make you feel good, Hinata. I've waited so long for this." Full-blown sobs were escaping me as I struggled against his muscular hold. He had just finished unzipping the zipper when the door finally shot open and Suigetsu was pulled off of me.

I saw Sakura take him to the ground and start punching, Gaara dash over to her to make sure Suigetsu didn't get the knife he'd dropped or get killed by Sakura, and Sasuke rush over to kneel beside me. He didn't say anything, but pulled me into his arms bridal style and raised to his feet. I was in and out of consciousness. The numbness was enough to allow me to rest my head against Sasuke without feeling too embarrassed about it, but I could still hear the angry sobs of Sakura as she beat a drunk Suigetsu to a pulp.

Sasuke felt warm, even through his clothes, and for some reason that amazing smelling cologne helped stop the tears from falling from my eyes. His chest rumbled as he spoke in a serious voice, "Stop her, Gaara." I heard what had to be the commotion of Gaara trying to pull Sakura off of her victim, who must've been knocked out by now judging by the silence. There were suddenly two gasps coming from the doorway that had to be Tenten and Ino finally arriving, and that was the last thing I remembered from that night before finally giving in to the comforting cloud that was sleep.

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 **THANK YOU FOR READING! PLEASE REVIEW/FOLLOW/FAVORITE! HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!**


	9. Chapter 9

**I'M HERE AND I BRING THE GIFT OF AN UPDATE! Sadly, this chapter is slightly shorter than I'd like, but those to come should be a bit longer :D This chapter is the turning point where Hinata pretty much loses her stutter for good and things start moving! Thank you, as always, to my reviewers:**

 **Splaaash-attack**

 **FallenInDreams - I intend to have lots and lots of cute couple moments in the future. Please be patient and thank you for reviewing! :D**

 **pinksakura271- First of all, I love the long reviews! Thank you for your honest opinions! Since you mentioned the Karaoke Bar being a nostalgic revisit for GaaSaku, I'm honestly considering squeezing that in. ALSO, I know how it sounds with the whole getting the girls drunk and leaving them with the boys, but I won't make it as bad as it sounds. I have a plan! Thank you again for the reviews and I hope that I keep your follow!**

 **dzii00**

 **jacpin2002- I am happy you mentioned you were worried Sakura would try and fall back on Gaara because she got rejected, but that's not EXACTLY how I plan on carrying everything out. Please stay tuned :D**

 **I PLAN ON REPLYING TO INQUIRIES MADE THROUGH REVIEWS JUST IN CASE SOMEONE WAS THINKING A QUESTION AND DIDN'T ASK IT! THANKS AGAIN FOR READING/REVIEWING/FOLLOWING/FAVORITE-ING AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE UPDATE!**

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When I woke up, I felt uncomfortable. The staleness of the air alerted me of the fact that I was in a hospital before I even opened my eyes. I sat there with my eyes closed for a while, just thinking about all of the events that had played out as they came back to me out of my sleepy haze. Suigetsu had finally been caught, and by big names as well. Who in their right mind would dare argue against Tenten, Ino, AND Sasuke if they claimed they'd all witnessed a sexual assault? Especially since my phone held the text messages he'd sent me as proof of his harassment.

"How bad do you think it's going to be?" I suddenly heard Tenten's voice, softer than I'd ever heard it. She must've been under the impression I was still asleep. To my surprise, Kakashi's raspy voice replied, "Her father is threatening to sue for endangerment and defamation." The utter shock had my eyes shooting open and blurting out, "What!" A flash of pink crossed my vision and I was suddenly thrown back against my pillow. Sakura tackled me into a tight hug and spoke as if she were close to tears, "Oh Hinata! I'm so happy you're alright!"

I struggled to hug her back as my limbs felt heavier than usual, probably due to whatever medication the hospital had flowing through my IV. Neji and Kakashi were both on their feet in the doorway of my room, while Tenten stood alert beside the chair Sakura had leapt out of. Once Sakura was satisfied that she'd expressed her relief thoroughly, she unwrapped herself from me and sat back in her uncomfortable looking chair. I recognized the wallpaper in the room and knew exactly where I was. The Inuzuka Hospital was owned by the prestigious Inuzuka family. They weren't business partners with the Hyuuga, but the Hyuuga's liked to keep good company. I'd never met any Inuzuka family member that wasn't going to school with a medical major or already graduated with one. They all seemed positively obsessed with health and evolution.

Word was that they'd even developed vitamins that can boost the five senses. They were having trouble getting it off the ground because elders thought that boosting the physical/touch sense would be used solely for sexual reasons and didn't want the Inuzuka family to taint it's name by releasing such an enhancement. I could kind of see their point. Anyway, I'd been sent here for years after my mother died for testing. Father doesn't believe in things like anxiety and depression disorders and insisted the doctors find the cause to my "misfortunes". Looking back on it, that was probably a large factor to why I was just now coming out of my shell.

All of the adults looked at eachother before Neji stepped forward. His eyes were weary, as if he were stressed about something, "How're you feeling, Hinata?" I sighed and moved to sit up in my bed. After glancing around the room again, I felt slightly disappointed that Gaara and Sasuke were nowhere to be seen. Of course we'd all only just met a few days ago, but I already considered the two young men to be my friends. It must've been a mistake to assume they felt the same way. A frown fell onto my lips as the silent sting of rejection tore at the edges of the already thin protective layer around my heart. The way the two had helped come to my rescue had me fooled. Perhaps they were just doing it out of obligation. I nodded to Neji, forcing a smile, "I'm alright, t-thank you. What was-"

I looked over at Kakashi and trailed off nervously. He gave me a sheepish smile that still looked great on him before lightly patting the edge of my bed, "I apologize to be the reason the first thing you hear upon awakening is negative. Your health and safety is of utmost importance, Hinata." Tenten leaned over and interlaced her fingers with mine supportively, "Let me be the one to give you the details. Your father is threatening to sue us for the whole incident. Somehow, the security tapes of Suigetsu breaking in got released to the public and he feels that it hurts your family's name to have a main family member at such an unprotected place." I couldn't stop myself from angrily bursting out, "It's not unsafe!"

Tenten squeezed my hand and nodded, eyes sinking lower, as did her voice as she continued, "He wants you to void your contract and return home." I looked around in shock. My own father was giving me an ultimatum. Give up on this "fantasy dream" of mine or he'd make sure the agency loses all of it's good credit. This was the absolute last straw. I felt my cheeks burn, but this time it wasn't with embarrassment. It was with one hundred percent rage. "Has he stopped by?" Even I was surprised by the sturdiness of my voice. Neji replied, "He is to arrive within the next hour to see you."

I looked Kakashi in the eye. It was obvious that he was at a crossroads. I knew he wanted what was best for me, which was helping me follow my own path. However, I also knew that he was worried to death that this would be a lot of trouble for the agency he'd worked so hard to get to where it was now. The dark circles starting to form under his eyes were just the start of the indicators. "I'll handle my father, Mr. Hatake. Don't worry." Neji's eyebrows rose in surprise, but he didn't interrupt. Kakashi gave me a knowing smile before thanking me and respectfully excusing himself to try and handle some of the paparazzi uproar outside of the hospital. Tenten quietly kissed my forehead, making my face turn 50 shades of red, before pulling Neji out of the room so Sakura and I could talk.

Once it was just the two of us, I let my anxieties out on the poor pinkette, "Where is he?" Sakura stretched her arms above her head before falling lifelessly against the wall. It was nearly eight a.m. and it was obvious that she'd stayed up all night helping handle everything, "He's on house-arrest right now. An anonymous party, obviously the Uzumaki's, bailed him out." My deep dislike for Karin only got deeper. Forget that she was a total bitch, but why would she bail her boyfriend out when he tried to cheat on her? What self-respecting girl would do that? I felt a little relief that I wouldn't be running into Suigetsu anytime soon, though. It was an unspoken fact that I would be pressing charges and that there was no doubt he'd lose that court battle.

With that little bit of reassurance, I finally let the more disappointed feelings show in front of my friend, "Did Sasuke and G-Gaara not-" As if I'd summoned them by saying their names out loud, the two men in question suddenly entered my room carrying a few bags. Gaara's face lit up when I made eye contact with him, and he smiled the first full smile I'd seen on his face. My face heated up in an instant and I saw that Sakura's matched mine in my peripheral. He had the most appealing dimples and alluring smile, "It's nice to see you awake, Hinata. How are you?" I did my best to return his smile without tripping over my words, "I-I-I'm fine, thanks."

Relief flooded over me. They did come! My previously negative thoughts suddenly had me feeling guilty. Did I have no faith? His smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared and I was able to avert my gaze to the taller man on his left. Sasuke was glaring down at me as if I'd insulted him. I locked eyes with him for a few moments, waiting for him to speak, but that didn't happen so I quickly started the conversation, "Thank yo-"

He cut off my expression of gratitude for his help with a suddenly cocky smirk, tossing the bag he was holding onto my lap. It was soft and light, obviously holding clothes for me to change into. He mock-flirted with me as an obvious attempt to keep things normal between all of us, "I picked them out myself. You've got a nice collection of granny panties, Hyuuga." The heart monitor suddenly sped up in pace as heat rose to my cheeks.

Sasuke started laughing at my obvious offense, but that didn't distract me from Sakura's awkward face as Gaara handed her a bag that no-doubt held her own change of clothes. They didn't waste any time leaving the room to go look for snacks, being growing boys and all. Sakura spoke as soon as she knew they were out of earshot, "Sasuke rejected me." She didn't sound that broken-hearted about it, but I still reached over to touch her arm comfortingly, "Are you a-alright?" She stared at me for a moment as if thinking about saying something, but shook her head dismissively, "Yeah, I'm alright. I DID get to kiss him though! Oh my god, Hinata!" Her face was as red as an apple and I felt honestly curious, whispering frantically, "Was i-it good?"

She gave a perverted smile, nodding quickly with that same bright face, "Oh yes!" We both laughed in whispers so those out in the hall wouldn't hear. After a moment, she leaned in even closer and spoke barely loud enough for me to hear, "I want to find someone at the club on Saturday. Will you help me?" I felt a little awkward. She seemed so eager to lose her virginity that it had me worried as to why. She was one of the most respectable people I'd ever met, definitely not one to sleep around with someone she doesn't know. So, why did she want to sleep with a stranger? I tried to find the right words, "Y-Yes, but why?"

She looked shaken at first, but quickly tried to play it cool, "What do you mean?" I touched her hand, telepathically trying to send her courage to tell me what was really going on. The trying to sleep with Sasuke thing wasn't as bad as requesting help with sleeping with a stranger. At least if it was Sasuke, he wouldn't try anything stupid because he would be stuck seeing her for at least two years. This person could do whatever they wanted because they wouldn't have to ever see her again if they didn't want to and I wasn't comfortable with that. I was desperate to be there for Sakura when she obviously needed someone to confide in, but looking at her stubborn face proved that she wouldn't be an easy one to crack.

That just made me even more worried. It must be a big secret if she wouldn't spill. I shook my head dismissively. There was no need to push a subject I knew she wouldn't respond well to, "Never mind. Just...be careful, Sakura." There was a small cough from the doorway and we turned to see Gaara and Sasuke standing awkwardly with arm-fulls of snacks from the snack machine down the hall. Sakura shot to her feet. It was obvious they'd heard the last part of our conversation. "Hey guys! Did you get any of those chocolate bite things? I love those!"

The two boys visibly relaxed as Sakura forced the conversation away from what they'd just overheard and pulled chairs up next to my bed, laying out their findings for us all to pick from. I had the blood pressure reader clamped onto my finger and found it hard to open any packaging with it, so Sasuke broke off part of his granola bar and handed it to me without looking me in the eye. I gave him a thankful smile even if he didn't see it. We sat and talked about anything except the serious events that had happened the previous night. Gaara was noticeably more comfortable around us, actually joining in the conversation when Sakura brought up her song writing. It was as if we struck a good nerve and his eyes had lit up.

Sasuke also seemed to lighten up to us. I had a feeling he was a nicer guy than he let on, but didn't feel like he'd look as cool if he acted so. Little did he know, there were moments when his true personality shined through, and those were the moments that he was the most likable. I watched as the three laughed at something Sakura had said and suddenly felt emotional, tears welling up before I could control them. These three had been there when I needed them most, without me even having to ask. There had never been more loyal friends in my life and I'd known them all less than a week, not counting Sakura.

I tried to discreetly wipe my tears away, but Sasuke noticed them and held my gaze for a moment before the other two noticed. Sakura lay a hand on my leg with a worried look, but I sniffled and croaked out, "T-Thank you guys.." They had a variety of reactions to my lack of self-control. Sasuke let that facade of his drop for just a single moment, but it was enough to see how his dark eyes softened and the corner of his lips curved up ever so slightly. His face quickly became stoic and cocky, if not a bit panicked that I may have glimpsed his real reaction. Gaara gave a small smile and shook his head as if it wasn't a big deal. Sakura lightly smacked my arm with a bittersweet laugh as she quickly went to wipe at her eyes with her other hand, "Stop, Hinata! You'll make me cry, too!" I joined her in laughing and continued to rub at my eyes.

"Hinata."

We all looked towards the door to see the pristine Hiashi Hyuuga standing tall in the doorway. Sasuke quickly excused himself from the room, bowing respectfully to my father before turning into the hall. Gaara and Sakura quickly grabbed the remainder of the snacks and followed Sasuke's lead. All the while, Father's eyes remained glued coldly on my own. Once we were alone, he stepped into the room and shut the door behind him. I smoothed out the blanket that lay over my legs anxiously, trying to cope with how uncomfortable I was in my own parent's presence. "What have you done, Hinata?" It was more of a statement of disappointment than a question, so I didn't reply.

It was hard enough for me to hold the more abrasive man's gaze without wavering. Silence swept through the room for a few moments before Father finally continued, "You will schedule for your belongings to be collected before the day ends." He turned as if his word was final and he was going to leave already, but I felt that anger from earlier surface and opposed his wishes, "No, I-I will not."

The Hyuuga elder turned back to face me slowly, as if he couldn't believe his ears, "Excuse me?" I swallowed nervously before repeating myself, "I will not be leaving the agency, F-Father." I even managed to hold my glare on him, so proud of myself. "Hinata Hyuuga, I am your father and I demand that you obey my wishes. Besides, this agency has already landed you in the hospital in less than a week." My blood began to boil as he tried to find any way to rationalize his actions and I quickly climbed out of my bed. I was slightly dizzy at first, but quickly steadied myself with a hand on the foot of the bed, standing just in front of my father, "Don't pretend that you care for my safety, Father. You only care about the company's image." He glared down at me silently, so I repeated, like a mantra, "I will not be leaving the agency."

He finally bursted out, more angry than I'd seen him in a long time, "Hinata, I will bring that company to the ground if you disobey me!" I couldn't control my anger and yelled back, "If you do that, I will go public about how the great Hiashi Hyuuga really treats his children! Hanabi and I will both be gone!" He knew that there would be plenty of evidance of my hospital visits and medication records to back up whatever secrets I decided to spill. It was sad that it took threatening to remove Hanabi to knock some sense into him. How bittersweet it was that he wouldn't react the same way if it were me. There was a sharp sting across my cheek that had my whole head thrown to the side, my body following slightly.

It took a moment of me seeing stars to realize that he'd actually slapped me. My voice cracked as I hollered at him, "Why do you hate me so much!" By now I noticed a small crowd of my guests crowding around the door through the small window, but chose to ignore them since this conversation needed to take place. The man was silent for so long that I was unsure he'd ever answer, but he eventually seethed out, "Your mother would be so disappointed in you."

The door opened then and Neji stood there with discomfort clear on his features, "Uncle, the Inuzuka's would like to speak with you alone. Forgive the intrusion." Hiashi's angry gaze lay idle on me for one moment more before he ended our conversation as if he were arranging a deal of sorts, "Keep your cards. I won't have anyone thinking I abandoned you. Don't come home until you've realized your mistakes and intend to atone for them." His word was as final as the first ones he'd said when he'd entered. I knew that he wouldn't try to hurt Kakashi's company, for now at least.

Despite my small triumph of standing up to him, I couldn't help but feel the stinging ache of despair pull at my heartstrings. How could he dare bring up my mother? He swiftly turned on his heel and walked out of the room, standing tall and confident. The group outside the room waited for him to be a good distance away before coming in. My hand was still idle on my cheek where he'd slapped me, even if it just tingled now. I was more hurt that he'd actually committed the act than by the act itself. Sasuke, Tenten, and Gaara all found seats in silence, while Sakura pulled my hand away from my face and gently rubbed the red area beneath, "It'll be okay, Hinata. We'll be your family now."

I could feel everyone staring at me, but didn't care for once. I'm sure my eyes were wide and blank, pretty acurately reflecting the shock I was feeling. There was a ton of relief rolling through my veins, but for every ounce of relief there was a cup of rejection, a pint of self-loathing, and a pound of sadness. I quiety smiled at her before lightly removing my hand from hers and climbing back into my bed. It was tense in the room and I rolled over onto my side with my back to the majority of my guests. I wanted to be alone, but didn't want to be rude and ask them to leave. Tears welled up in my eyes and I just let them fall. I could only see Sasuke looking at me in my peripheal and there was no mask on his face. For once, he looked honestly and completely concerned. That alone had me worried about me, too.

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 **THANKS FOR READING!**


	10. Chapter 10

**UPDATE TIME!**

 **I went back and fixed the error in the previous chapter where it said Sasuke left and then Gaara and Sasuke followed. Also, a few people seemed confused about seating arrangements around Hinata's bed so I will clear that up. Sasuke was sitting by himself on the left side of the bed while Sakura sat closest to Hinata on the right side with Gaara near her on the same side. I HOPE THIS HELPS AND I'M SORRY FOR THE LACK OF CLARITY!**

 **THANK YOUS:**

 **FallenInDreams- I appreciate your review! I have a plan in mind for the whole Gaara/Sakura thing. A small hint, I guess, is that the chapter that they go to the club is going to be eventful! Stay tuned!**

 **dzii00-Thank you, as always, for reviewing and reading. I appreciate your loyalty!**

 **Sakura-Fairy-Tail - Same goes to you! Thanks!**

 **jacpin2002-Yes, her dad is such an ass! I actually personally like Hiashi the later the show goes on when it shows him not being quite so hard on her, but SOMEBODY has to be an antagonist, right?**

 **tanuki- Thanks for reviewing! My reply to you is pretty much the same as the first reply up at the top! The club-going chapter is where stuff is going to go down!**

 **Wandering Ship- Thanks for the review! I went back and fixed the leaving the room issue and clarified the seating arrangement up above. The reason I had Hiashi so eager to threaten the company is because Suigetsu is already going to be taken care of. On top of that, his main goal is to get Hinata to come home. He knows that she is kind of heart and would rather leave her passion than watch the agency that she cares for be ruined: she'd take one for the team. He may not personally care about the agency, but wanted to have leverage in swaying her decision to stay or come home. Hope this helps!**

 **pinksakura271-Thanks again for reviewing! Please look forward to the club-going chapter! A lot of you questions will be answered then! It's coming soon!**

 **Splaaash-attack-Thanks as always! Please continue following!**

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I was released shortly after father's visit so I could return to the agency. Kakashi had Tsunade and Jiraiya come to Sakura and I's room for practice so I would be near my bed and kitchen should I need to rest, along with having them bring me a large bouquet of flowers with a sweet handwritten card from the Hatake himself thanking me for preventing my father from acting on his threats. I honestly felt back to normal, minus the slight damper in my mood, so I didn't see any reason for the special training arrangements.

Tsunade and Jiraiya both programmed their personal numbers in my phone and assured me that I could call them at any time if I run into trouble like that again. Since I'd only lost a few hours of training, I wasn't very far behind schedule and decided to just make up for it by going to the extra classes overnight, as planned. I tried my best to put maximum effort into my training and it seemed to be fruitful.

By the time my daily training was finished, I'd finished learning the choreography and notes for every song I'd be taking part in on our first album. All that was left was to perfect them. The two adults left to attend other matters while Sakura rushed out of her bedroom with an exaggerated sigh, "About damn time!" She flopped down on the couch as I went to change out of my sweaty dance clothes. "Hinata, we're friends right?" I pulled my new shirt over my head and shoved my arms through the holes, "Of course, Sakura."

There was a pause, which had me walking to my bedroom doorway to look at Sakura curiously. She had turned onto her back and was staring at the ceiling with a hard expression to read. "Sakura?" Whatever trance she was in was broken and she glanced over at me with a sheepish grin, "It's just...all of this stuff going on and Suigetsu almost, you know...I don't want to try and start anymore drama. There's so much of it right now with our debut coming and training, I don't want to be a burden." I sensed that this would be a serious topic and sat down on the floor with my back to the couch she lay on. It may be easier for her to talk if she doesn't have to look me in the eye. She noticed that I was waiting for her to continue and did, albeit slowly, "So my mom and dad got divorced about two years ago and Dad moved to Hawaii with his new girlfriend, so I don't see him anymore. Mom got a new boyfriend, Sam, about a year ago and he just moved in about six months ago."

I had a bad feeling about where this was going, but kept my mouth shut as she struggled to explain with a straight voice. I could hear it waver every once in a while with emotion, "Sam is great and he make Mom happy, but Sam has a son named Garrett who is twenty-one who's not so great. He's a big muscle-pig guy who bullies me when they're not around." I didn't look at her, but I could tell by her panicked voice that she had to be crying by now, "I tried so hard to be friends with him, Hinata, I did! He took me having manners as flirting with him and he keeps trying to- He-"

My whole body turned to look at her as she broke into weak sobs. Her arms were crossed over her face, but I lay a comforting hand on them, "It's oka-" She threw her arms down and sat up, face blotchy and eyes red, "It's not okay, Hinata! I don't want to tell my mom because I haven't seen her so happy in a long time and it would ruin things for her with Sam. I've managed to get away from Garrett a few times now, but he's so strong!" Her voice suddenly dropped to barely a whisper and her voice became raspy, "I don't want to have it taken away from me. I want to give it to someone willingly."

I knew she was talking about her virginity and suddenly everything made sense. She thought that sleeping with someone she barely knew or didn't know at all would be a better option than losing something so important to someone like Garrett. I understood why she didn't want to tell her mom. It was the same reason I'd been hesitant to tell anyone about Suigetsu. She didn't want anyone to get hurt. "Sakura, losing it to some drunk at the club would be no bett-"

She yelled suddenly, "Yes it would be! You don't understand, Hinata!" I went silent. The girl was nearly hysterical, but I didn't take offense to her yelling. She was in a bad situation that neither of us knew how to get her out of. We sat there for a few moments, the only sound being her desperate sobs that were only slightly muffled by her hands covering her face. It was obvious that she'd been holding back this worry for a while. She was a great actress. I'd never even noticed a single time of her seeming to be not okay. There was a soft knock at the door and I glanced at Sakura as she looked over with a panicked look.

She shook her head at me, trying to plead with me not to answer the door so we wouldn't have to explain the noises someone might have heard in the hallway. The walls were so thin that we could often hear the boys' conversations as well. I gave her a pleading look right back. If we could rally up our friends like we had when we were searching for Suigetsu, we might be able to come up with a plan to help her. The person at the door knocked again, this time more urgent.

I pulled my arm away from Sakura's shaky grip and opened the door. Gaara and Sasuke both stood there with blank faces. Sakura dove off of the couch and into her room, slamming the door behind her. The two didn't miss her disheveled form crossing the room and looked at me for an explanation. I pushed the door to the room open and let them come in. They looked hesitant. It had been nothing but drama drama drama since I'd been here and it honestly felt like a teenage television show. Soon they were seated quietly on the couch while I went to knock on Sakura's door. I could just barely hear her sobs. She must've had her face buried in a pillow. Everything in me felt wrong for invading her privacy, but I entered the room to see that my guess was correct.

She lay in a ball on her bed with a pillow between her legs and her face stuffed into it. She looked up at me with a bright red face, "W-Why did you let them in!" She was choking over her words. My heart ached for her. She must feel so desperate and hopeless. I climbed onto her bed and did my best to hug her with her balled-up form, whispering, "They can help. They're our friends." We lived in a world where young men weren't being taught well enough about how to treat women and young women were suffering because of it. I was soon able to coax her out into the living room.

She stopped sobbing, but still had tears falling from her face as she curled up on one of the beanbag chairs with a blanket and pillow to make her feel more comfortable. I explained what was wrong to the boys, with Sakura's consent. Gaara just stared at Sakura's still slightly shaking form with concern etched onto his features, while Sasuke was slightly more angry, "So that's why you-" He didn't finish that sentence, but started a new one, "These guys are lame as fuck. They can't get girls so they try to force themselves onto them." It was odd to see him actually visibly upset about something that wasn't solely about himself. I kept looking at Gaara, who seemed like he wanted to say something, but he never did. It popped up in my mind that he may want to speak to Sakura alone. He did seem to care about her. Anytime she did something questionable, he always seemed sad about it. With a blush dusting my face and all of the confidence I could muster, I stood from my seat near Sakura and did my best to give them some time alone, "Sasuke, let's go get some chocolate for her from the vending machine downstairs. I-It'll make her feel a little better."

He looked confused, "Why do two of us need to-" I gestured to Gaara and Sakura without them seeing and it was like a bulb lit up over his head, his mouth making an "o" shape. He jumped to his feet, "We'll be right back."

 **-Sakura's POV-**

My throat and eyes were sore from crying. I must've looked a complete mess, but Gaara moved to sit in front of me with no words. I kept wiping at the stubborn tears that kept falling, but they wouldn't stop. My mother had been suicidal after her divorce. I hadn't seen her smile for a whole year until she met Sam. He was actually a very nice Southern gentlemen. He was from the United States. He had apparently been in the military and had visited Japan a few times while on duty only to fall in love with it and move him and his son here after his time was up. Both he and his son were tall and very muscular. Gaara's hand coming towards me broke me of my train of thought. He gently pushed my hair out of my face.

His fingers just barely brushed my skin, but electricity rushed through my body at the contact. "Sakura." He held eye contact with me for a few silent moments before I realized what he was about to say. Before I could interrupt, he presented an offer, "Let me do it." My face burnt bright red. I was suddenly very hot. My mouth opened and closed a few times as I tried to find the words to say, "G-Gaara, I-" He spoke over my sputtering, "As your friend, let me do this for you." His face had no hint of embarrassment on it, which startled me. He was dead serious.

I couldn't do it, though. Gaara was everything that I'd ever looked for in a boyfriend. He was sweet, caring, attentive, and looked great. I couldn't consider being intimate like that with him or it could possibly ruin our friendship forever. We could never be in a relationship while we were in the same group. There would always be far prettier and more talented women around, not mentioning adoring fangirls who would not take it well if their idol was dating someone. There was no way Gaara looked at me that way, anyway. He was just an amazing person, an amazing friend. What he was offering to do was so selfless, but I would probably end up falling for him if we went through with it. I'd tried to hook up with Sasuke because I knew I wouldn't want anything more from him than sex and that he would feel the same way.

It was different with Gaara. I'm too jealous of a person to even consider it. The tears that had slowed suddenly quickened pace and I lightly pushed his hand away. "I can't l-let you do that for me, Gaara." He was so selfless. Through my tears I noticed a hurt look cross his features, "What does Sasuke offer that I don't." Confusion swept over me. Gaara didn't strike me as the type to get jealous over things like that. I tried my best to explain before his feeling were hurt, "It's not what he has that you don't. It's what you have that he doesn't..."

My face was burning brightly and the confusion I'd felt was showing up on his face. He seemed about to reply when Hinata and Sasuke suddenly jiggled the handle to the door. I knew it wasn't locked and Hinata was probably just trying to be loud to signal their return. I was grateful for it because Gaara quickly moved back to his spot on the couch just before they entered the room. Sasuke sat next to him and Hinata sat next to me, her pearly eyes reflecting her concern as she handed me some chocolate.

I gave her the best smile I could manage before accepting her gift and leaning forward to hug her. I could tell she was new at socializing, but it was painfully obvious that she was trying her very best to be a good friend to me. After that, we all sat around and brainstormed ways to try and solve this issue for a while, coming up empty-handed in the end, before an alarm went off on Hinata's phone. She gasped and shot to her feet, "I've gotta go!"

I got to my feet, "Where are you going?" It was nearly midnight. Where could she possibly be going? She quickly pulled some shoes on and grabbed her keys. She turned to face us with a sheepish grin, shrugging, "I, um, picked up some extra training time with Tsunade so I won't fall behind." It wasn't healthy to be doing as much activity as she was, especially since she just got out of the hospital, "It's the middle of the night, Hinata."

The boys' heads bobbed back and forth between us as we spoke to each other. " Y-Yes, well it's only for today so it's no big deal." Despite my concern, she left then to attend her dance practice. I turned to the boys, "I think I'm gonna call it a night, unless you guys want to hang out." Sasuke jumped to his feet, "I'm outta here, then, " and he walked out the door without even waiting for Gaara. The redhead stood and walked up to me with an odd look in his eye, "In spite of everything, please reconsider my offer. Let me know."

He didn't give me any time to react before following Sasuke's footsteps and leaving the room. Once I was sure they were both gone I locked the door behind them and flopped down on the couch. My face was heated and embarrassment crept up on me. I couldn't help but think about what it would be like to have sex with Gaara. If it was anything like how he normally is, he'd be sure I was comfortable and cared for. I wasn't set to see my my family until they attended the debut next weekend. If I can learn to keep my feelings to myself, I may have to reconsider his offer.

I decided then that if I hadn't found someone to do it before then, I would change my mind. I really didn't want to do it, I mean I did, but I didn't. You could say I've had a small crush on Gaara since I'd met him, but that's exactly why I can't think about him in a romantic way. With such a great dilemma weighing down on my shoulders, I flipped through the channels on the tv as I waited for Hinata to return.

 **-Hinata's POV-**

By the end of my practice, which had gone way over on time and ended at a whopping three thirty in the morning, I was pretty fluent in every song I was taught. Tsunade had expressed her happiness at my progress before ultimately dismissing me. I trudged back to the room while fighting to keep my eyes open. I tried to be as silent as possible when unlocking the door.

When I entered the room, I saw Sakura curled up in her blanket on the couch, fast asleep. The tv was turned down, but still playing some old rerun teen drama show. A smile tugged at my lips. She'd tried to wait up for me. After taking a quick shower, I put on some pajamas before grabbing my own pillow and blanket from my bed and laying on the plush rug right in front of the couch. That same smile stayed on my mouth until the moment I fell asleep.

Even if negative things were going on around us, we still had each other.

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 **THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A LONG ONE! PLEASE GET READY FOR IT!**

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	11. Chapter 11

**AS PROMISED, HERE IS A LONG SUPER STEAMY CHAPTER! MATURE THEMES! THIS IS NOT THE CLUB CHAPTER, BUT THE NEXT ONE WILL BE!**

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 **Please enjoy!**

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Saturday morning came quickly and I awoke feeling completely renewed. Sakura was grumbling as my alarm interrupted her deep sleep. I glanced up to see her back turned and her arms and legs wrapped around her blanket as if it were a person. A small laugh escaped me and I shut my alarm off. Today was the day that all of us would train together for the first time. It was previously scheduled to start Monday, but my guess was the reason Kakashi wanted to hurry along was because Tenten had begged him to let us all out tonight.

I could just imagine her convincing him she was holding a team building event when really we were going to the club to help her relax on her date. I was slightly nervous about going, but I would be with everyone else so it couldn't be that bad. My biggest concern was making sure Sakura didn't sneak off with some creep. A frown slipped onto my lips as I glanced at her sleeping form one more time before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. While I was brushing my teeth, I heard a scream of terror and laughed. She must've just woken up and realized she was running behind.

Not a moment later did she come busting through the bathroom door, "Move Hinata! I have to put my makeup on!" I nearly choked on my toothpaste as I laughed at her. Her hair was everywhere and her makeup from yesterday, which she obviously forgot to take off, was smeared every which way across her face. She snickered back at me, shaking her head, "Shut up." She nudged me over with her hip and proceeded to get ready quicker than I'd ever seen anyone before.

She seemed to be in a much better mood after getting some sleep, for that I was thankful. I didn't like it when my friends weren't happy. Once we were both ready to go it was time for us to head down to our first co-ed practice with Jiraiya. We didn't see or hear from the boys, but continued downstairs anyway. As we walked, Sakura spoke in a quiet voice so no one would hear but me, "We should pull a prank on the guys sometime." There was a sudden jab on my side and I jumped because I was startled and ticklish.

Tenten's cheerful face appeared following the physical assault and she cackled, "Haha! You should go in their rooms while they're sleeping and put makeup on them. Make sure to record it so we can release the videos later. Your fans will get a kick out of it!" Sakura and I joined in her laughing as we entered the practice room. Sasuke and Gaara were waiting for us with Jiraiya giving them some instruction. The piano playing stopped and Jiraiya greeted us all with a smile, "Right on time, I like it!" Tenten instructed us to stand boy girl boy girl, with the order being me, Sasuke, Sakura, then Gaara.

"Before we start practice, I want to give you all some bad news." We all looked up at Tenten's guilty face and waited. She threw her hands out dramatically, "Kakashi wouldn't let you all leave the agency tonight unless I invited Karin." There goes the light-hearted mood. Sakura argued instantly, "Why would he do that when he knows that Suigetsu is her boyfriend?" Jiraiya intervened for it seemed he had been present when that conversation had taken place, "This deal that the Uzumaki's have made with the agency is going to gain you an edge when it comes to publicity. Kakashi has informed Karin and her parents that if any ill-will comes from her, the deal will be off." That relaxed me a bit, if only just slightly.

At least there was something on the line that could keep Karin from being so terrible. I glanced over at Sakura to see how she was taking the news, but she seemed to be feeling quite uncomfortable. She stared straight ahead as if trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. Gaara was doing the same. I looked up to see Sasuke's glare pointed down at me, to which I replied with an inquisitive look.

Tenten clapped her hands excitedly, drawing all of our attention, "Let's get started!" Jiraiya looked between all of us and sighed as if he were asking the lord for patience before beginning to play the notes for warm up exercises. I couldn't really get a feel for the guys' voices because we were just warming up, but I felt so nervous as the rumble of their deeper voices shook my very being. I'd never sang with a male before and hoped that I would do well to impress both my teammates and trainers. It were as if we'd all met for the first time again. We were all so used to practicing alone that it felt alien to have other voices joining in.

I caught myself and the others glancing around at everyone singing curiously. That's what this practice was for, though, to get comfortable singing with each other. Once we were finished warming up, Tenten wanted to get right into it with the first song of our album, called Never See Your Face Again. We each had our sheet music that was marked with who was to sing when and stood stiffly as Jiraiya started playing.

Sasuke started off the first part. His voice seemed to be very developed. He obviously had a very broad range, vocally. There was a prideful air about him when he was singing that had me struggling not to stare in wonder.

 **Sasuke:** _Now as the summer fades, I'll let you slip away_

 _You say I'm not your type, but I can make you sway_

 _It makes me burn to learn you're not the only one_

 _I'll let you be if you put down your blazing gun_

Sakura came in next with Gaara and me on back up vocals

 **Sakura:** _Now you've gone somewhere else far away_

 _I don't know if I will find you_

 **Gaara and Hinata:** _(find you, find you)_

 **Sakura:** _But you feel my breath on your neck_

 _Can't believe I'm right behind you_

 **Gaara and Hinata:** _(right behind you)_

We all took part in the chorus.

 **Gaara and Sasuke:** _'Cause you keep me coming back for more_

 _And I feel a little better than I did before_

 **All:** _And if I never see your face again, I don't mind_

 _'Cause we got much further than I thought we'd get tonight_

It was finally my turn to sing, with Gaara playing tennis with me with our lines. I bit back my fear, closed my eyes, and sang the notes I'd practiced so much these past few days as if my life depended on it.

 **Hinata:** S _ometimes you move so well it's hard not to give in_

 **Gaara:** _I'm lost; I can't tell where you end and I begin_

 **Hinata:** _It makes me burn to learn you're with another man_

 **Gaara:** _I wonder if he's half the lover that I am_

There was a muffled squeal and my eyes shot open to see Tenten jumping up and down with a goofy grin on her face. She gave me an energetic thumbs up and walked around the room as we continued the song, dancing a little here and there. Sasuke continued next with the rest of us singing backup.

 **Sasuke:** _Now you've gone somewhere else far away_

 _I don't know if I will find you_

 **Gaara/Hinata/Sakura:** _(find you, find you)_

 **Sasuke:** _But you feel my breath on your neck_

 **Gaara/Hinata/Sakura:** _Can't believe I'm right behind you (right behind you)_

Sakura and I sang the next chorus alone, her singing alto notes and me singing soprano so the harmonies were rich.

 **Sakura and Hinata:** _'Cause you keep me coming back for more_

 _And I feel a little better than I did before_

 _And if I never see your face again, I don't mind_

 _'Cause we got much further than I thought we'd get tonight_

Gaara sang the bridge, with Sasuke backing him.

 **Gaara:** _Baby, baby, please believe me_

 _Find it in your heart to reach me_

 _Promise not to leave me behind_

 **Sasuke:** _(Promise not to leave me behind)_

Sakura sang the second part of the bridge with Sasuke and I backing her and I felt my nerves ravel up since I had a big note coming up. I took a deep breath and imagined I was in my room in the shower singing.

 **Sakura:** _Take me back, but take it easy_

 _Make me think, but don't deceive me_

 _Talk to me by taking your time_

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** _(Talk to me, talk to me)_

Sakura and Gaara continued with the next chorus, Sasuke and I eventually joining in to finish out the song.

 **Sakura:** _'Cause you keep me coming back for more_

 _And I feel a little better than I did before_

 **Sakura and Gaara:** _And if I never see your face again, I don't mind_

 _'Cause we got much further than I thought we'd get tonight_

 **All:** _'Cause you keep me coming back for more_

 _And I feel a little better than I did before_

 _And if I never see your face again, I don't mind_

 _'Cause we got much further than I thought we'd get tonight_

The song finished and the room was silent for just a moment as Jiraiya turned to look over at us. We stood tense, waiting for them to tell us their opinions. Tenten suddenly whooped, jumping up and down, "Yes! That was amazing!" She suddenly stopped, a serious look on her face as she daringly grabbed Sasuke by his shoulders and shook him, looking at all of us, "One thing though! Why are you all so stiff? You don't stand like this when you sing at home, do you? Move around! Dance! Do whatever you feel like doing!"

My cheeks were starting to heat up a bit. Most of my singing was done in the shower, so all I could picture in my head was showering in front of everyone in the room. Sasuke's glare darkened at Tenten until she released him, then he went over to stand against the wall, one foot against it. Gaara walked a little bit away and waited for the next song to start, Sakura following suit but in a different direction. That left me clutching my sheet music in panic, not knowing what to do with myself. Tenten put her hands on her hips and stared at me, "Loosen up, Hinata. Once this next song starts, if I see you standing there stiffly, I'm going to kiss you on the mouth."

A snort escaped Sakura and a small squeak of surprise slipped past my lips. I turned my back to the popstar with nothing but a cloud in my brain and blood rushing to my face. Jiraiya started playing the next song, called Up. As we sang this time, Sasuke would sometimes tap his foot or move his hands with the notes he was singing. Sakura danced around a little with the choreography that would go with this song, but not full out. Gaara walked around casually, eyes closed for the most part.

After about a minute into the song, I heard Tenten bark, "Hinata! My lips are all moisturized and ready for you!" Sakura started laughing in the middle of the line she was singing and I quickly started taking a few tentative steps around the room, avoiding eye contact with anyone else. It felt very awkward and unnatural until it was my turn to sing. Once I started singing, everything felt at ease. My feet and hands moved on their own and I felt very in my element. Once the song ended, Tenten sighed, "That's a damn shame. I wanted to see if all of the Hyuga's were good kissers."

My gaze shot to her in surprise, face just as red as before. Even Gaara let out a small laugh at that. Tenten winked at me before turning to Gaara to give him some instruction. While they talked, I glanced at Sakura. She gave me a bright smile and walked over to me so she could link her arm in mine and whisper, "Sasuke's been staring at you all morning." I couldn't stop myself from stealing a peek in his direction. Sure enough, his dark eyes were focused on me. I wouldn't say he was staring though. It was more of a glare. He seemed to be upset with me, but I couldn't figure out why.

I shook my head at Sakura and she gave me a flirty look before skipping back away from me as Tenten came back to center to let Jiraiya take over. We continued our vocal practice until we'd went through the entire album twice, minus our solo songs. We were released from practice to take lunch. I turned toward Sasuke to ask him what was wrong, but he gave me another glare and hurried out of the room. The way his eyes looked over me with such displeasure had me feeling the same way my father made me feel when he gave me a similar look.

I was reminded of our conversation at the hospital and suddenly my mood was dampened. Sakura came up next to me and linked her arm in mine again, "Let's go eat. I'm starving!" I nodded and allowed her to lead me toward the door only to feel like a complete jerk for forgetting Gaara. I turned, stalling Sakura slightly, "Hey Gaara, wanna come to lunch with us?" The redhead looked between Sakura and I cautiously before nodding and grabbing his things so he could follow us out. Sakura got quiet, but I took it as her being hangry. We headed up to our room where we proceeded to have a painfully silent and uncomfortable lunch. Sakura and Gaara kept stealing glances at one another and me and I didn't have the courage to ask them what was wrong.

We were all going out to have fun tonight and I didn't want to ruin the good time before it even started. Sasuke didn't join us and I didn't hear anything from him until we'd finished up lunch and arrived in the dance practice room where he and Tsunade were doing some stretches. I caught his gaze and tilted my head as if to ask him what his deal was, but again he looked away as if he hadn't seen it. We all joined in to let Tsunade finish leading the stretches before she clapped her hands in a business-like manner with her usual grimace, "Let's start with the hardest song and go from there, shall we?"

My heart sank. We were going to dance to Familiar? She'd already told me that Sasuke would be my partner for that song. With him seeming so angry at me, it didn't seem like a good idea to me at the moment. "Go ahead and get into place with your partners." Panic stiffened my motions, but I forced myself to go and stand next to the Uchiha. I busied my hands with pulling my hair up into a ponytail so I wouldn't fiddle with them nervously. I snuck a glance over at him only to see him looking at my hair. Oh god. He probably throught it was gross. I hadn't washed it last night so it wasn't as fluffy as it normally was.

I took a shaky breath. Get it together, Hinata. This is just Sasuke. Granted, this Sasuke was in an unusually bad mood, but it was still him. He hadn't even tried to flirt with me to make me angry or anything today. Regardless of his mindset, I had to pull myself together and get through with it. We were going to be stuck together for two years so we'd eventually be comfortable dancing together so why not try my best to make it sooner than later? "Just as we've practiced. Sasuke and Hinata, sing along to the music and adjust your energy levels so you can sing and dance at the same time. Gaara and Sakura, this is the song that your dance skill is showcased the most so do your very best."

I turned to look at Sasuke, who rolled his eyes and stepped towards me. He calmly placed his hand on the curve of my back as I leaned back, neck and back arched in a dramatic pose. I lifted my leg with my toes pointed, as practiced, and his other hand came up to hold it gently. There was so much tension and heat in between us that I couldn't help but feel incredibly attracted to him. Where his hands touched my body felt one hundred degrees warmer than the rest of my body.

He was looking down at me, posed as we'd all been instructed, with a darker shade over his gaze. I couldn't determine what emotion was being portrayed in them, but it was intense whatever it was. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to breath through my emotions. This was strictly business. We were dance partners, nothing more. Everything needs to be professional and perfect! Tsunade his play on the remote, causing me to look over and see her go to lean against the mirror so she could watch us. The music wasn't as loud as it normally was so we could hear ourselves sing. I started to sing and Sasuke pulled my lifted leg down, leading me into an array of sexy and close dance moves. I did my best to think only of the performance, but it was hard to ignore his precise touches.

His hands were so firm and hot against my skin. I could feel the heat coming off of his body, he was so close to me. His breath was sticky against the back of my neck and it was all too much for me. I couldn't stop the shiver that ran through my body. His breath suddenly hitched and my legs nearly gave out. His previously gentle hands wrapped around my waist firmly to keep me up and I was brought back to the earth. Was Tsunade going to yell at us for messing up? "I like the improv Sasuke! Keep it up!" She shouted over the music.

I turned my head to the side to look at his face, which was very close since he was leaning over as part of the dance. I brought my hand up to wrap my fingers through his hair, all part of the dance. His hair may be a tousled mess, styled of course, but it was the softest thing I think I'd ever felt. We were both starting to work up a sweat, but kept going through the performance. After another minute or so of being very out of my comfort zone, the song ended and I was breathing hard.

Sasuke's hands stayed on my hips after the song cut off and that's all I could focus on until Tsunade told us to get a drink. My vision was getting cloudy, but other than that I was quite proud of myself. A week ago I would've fainted at the mere thought of being as close to any man like that, much less Sasuke. I squatted near my bag and pulled out my water bottle. Sakura came up next to me with a face that had to be pretty close to mine. I gave her a knowing look and she shook her head before tilting her head back to get a big swig of her drink. Sasuke grabbed his water bottle and stood away from us with his glare on the wall across the room. I looked over to see Gaara in a similar position as Sasuke, but his brows were furrowed in concentration as he gazed at the tiles on the floor. What was going on with these boys today?

We all eventually gravitated back to the middle of the room to wait for Tsunade to give us further instruction. She didn't hesitate to start coaching us. "Sakura and Gaara, your dancing is impeccable, but you lack tension. You didn't look each other in the eye one time throughout the whole song." I looked over to see Sakura nod her head absently as if she were taking notes but wasn't happy about it.

"Sasuke and Hinata, you don't look attracted to each other at all, which is terrible for this type of dance. You look uncomfortable." She came up to us and instructed me to stand in front of Sasuke like we would in the middle of the dance. She counted the steps slowly so we would dance the dance step by step for her. While we danced, she moved our hands here and there, saying things like, "Touch him here, smile right here, and don't be afraid to get into it." She was right. Sasuke and I both were very stiff and obviously not at ease with each other. We technically got the moves right, but it didn't look as good as it would if we were more comfortable. Once she was satisfied we'd taken her comments to heart, she told us to restart the song.

I looked Sasuke in the eye and got back into our starting pose. He stared back down at me with that same darkened gaze. I whispered to him to try and cheer him up, "We've got this!" and immediately felt regretful because he seemed to snap out of his angry mood. His usual flirty smirk slowly crept up to his lips and he gave me a wink, whispering back, "Don't be such a prude, Hyuga."

He was taking a jab at my lack of sexual prowess. Of course I wouldn't be familiar with movements like these! Annoyance's familiar itch rolled through my body as the song began and I glared at him as we started dancing. He made sure to touch me just a moment longer than necessary each time and would be sure I could feel his body close behind me. He was teasing me! A part of me honestly preferred the quiet Sasuke because at least then it was just my fault for being embarrassed. Now, he was making sure to torture me as much as possible.

While it made me nervous, it also made me angry and I feel like that helped me overcome some of the fear I had when it came to being close. One the song ended, Tsunade clapped her hands a few times, "That's more like it, both couples! Let's move on!" I wasted no time creating distance between Sasuke and I. He let out a snicker as I moved several feet away. The rest of dance practice went fairly smoothly. We all, luckily, had the majority of our dances memorized and only had to focus on perfecting them. As we were finishing our last run through of Never See Your Face Again, Tenten burst through the door in a panic.

Tsunade rolled her eyes at her and gestured for us to go ahead and leave. Tenten was dressed to the nines. She had on a pale pink dress that had a very low plunging neckline, a bare back, and ended barely covering her essentials. She had straightened her usually curly hair, making it even longer, and paired her outfit with matte red pumps and a matching handbag. We all gathered our things as she bellowed, "Hurry up, Hurry up! You all have to shower and get dressed before 9!" It was already seven in the evening so that didn't leave us much time.

She didn't bother hiding her intentions for the night from Tsunade, who had guessed long ago that this wasn't going to be something she wanted to know about and left the room shaking her head in annoyance. We were ushered upstairs where Tenten pushed me into her room and shoved me into her bathroom, "Shower here! I'll be back with clothes!" I stood confused with papers and a bag of bottled water clutched in my arms for a moment and listened to the commotion outside as she shouted orders out to the other three. Knowing I'd better follow what she'd told me to do and knowing Tenten's crazy mind, I did as she said and got undressed so I could take a shower.

As I was waiting for the water to warm up, the door to the bathroom opened and I screamed bloody murder. Ino screamed and rushed into the room, "OH MY GOD HINATA!" My vision was getting darker and I scurried to cover myself with a towel, unable to respond verbally. Ino kept on screaming, "YOUR TITS ARE HUGE WHAT THE FUCK!" Tenten came bursting through the door to her room and started laughing hysterically while holding onto a bewildered Ino's arm, not even shutting the door to the hallway. I quickly jumped into the shower, "P-P-Please get out!"

After a few moments, Tenten's laughter subsided and Ino's voice continued more softly, "Hinata, for real though, what do you eat for every meal? I want a written answer before the night's over." Tenten cackled again before I heard her dragging the blond out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. I lightly hit my forehead against the wall below the shower head. These people are going to give me a heart attack one of these days.

After showering up, I waited for Tenten to bring me clothes as she'd promised, for about fifteen minutes before realizing she wasn't in her room and most likely wasn't coming to save me. I'd done most of my makeup while I was waiting, but still needed to dry my hair. I crept out of the bathroom and glimpsed over the room. It appeared to be vacant. After peeking out into the hall to make sure no one was coming, I stepped out with just my towel around me. The door to Tenten's room quickly slammed behind me and I heard Ino's laughter from behind it.

Panic struck through me like a lightning bolt and I hurried across the hall to the door to Sakura and my's room, only to realize that it was locked as well. I banged on it loudly, terrified that someone would leave step out of the elevator any minute and see me in such an indecent state, "Sakura! Let me in!" My fears were realized when the familiar ding of the elevator ariving on our floor rang through the air and Tenten's snickering could be heard behind the door I stood in front of. My instincts had me sprinting to Gaara and Sasuke's room and bursting through the door, slamming it shut behind me while clutching my towel tight with my free hand.

I took a second before raising my eyes to look at the room in front of me, just knowing I wouldn't like any outcome from this. As I'd expected, Sasuke was standing with an amused look on his face at the island in the kitchen. It looked like he was drinking alcohol already, from the looks of his glass. Was he already twenty-one or did someone buy him some? He was wearing a dark grey button up shirt with black dress pants. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone and his hair was slicked back a bit since it was damp from his shower. I could hear water running so Gaara must've been in the shower as we stood silently.

He raised his glass to take another sip of his drink without saying a word, just letting his eyes dance over my appearance with a smug grin on his face. I didn't have the slightest idea of how to handle this situation and kind of stood there doe-eyed until Sasuke sat down his glass and leaned onto the counter. I caught a good glimpse down his shirt and Sakura was right, he had pretty defined muscles. He rested his hand on his fist and spoke up. It was obvious that he'd already had a drink or two by how relaxed he seemed, "Hinata Hyuga, welcome to our humble abode."

I squeezed my eyes shut in embarrassment, "Please don't do this, Sasuke. I just want to go get dressed. They locked me out." The man let out a deep chuckle, the hairs on my arms standing up in response to the attractive sound, "You don't have to lie to me. I know you just wanted me to see you like that." My eyes shot open into a glare towards him, "Not true, S-Sasuke." He walked around the counter and towards me, making me shake in my hypothetical boots at what he might do, out of nervousness more than fear. He towered over me with a hand placed flat on the door above my head. He leaned forward to look me in the eye. I could smell the liquor on his breath, but it wasn't so strong that he seemed to be drunk, "Why don't you like me, Hyuga?"

What? I thought HE didn't like ME. I temporarily forgot where we were and what I was wearing, or not wearing to be more clear, "What do you mean? I do like you, Sasuke. We're friends." He gave me an odd look before glancing down at my towel, making my hold on it tighter. His eyes came back up to meet mine and he opened his mouth to say something, but Gaara stepped out of the bathroom with just a towel around his hips and I buried my face in my hands. I wasn't quick enough to not see the soft muscles that textured his torso and arms. I'd have to tell Sakura about this or she'd kill me.

He quickly took notice of me and crossed his arms in an attempt to hide his body, "Hinata! What's going-" His gaze went to Sasuke's confident stance towering over me and he put two and two together, "They locked you out, didn't they?" I nodded and looked between him and Sasuke with a pleading look. Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh before removing himself from over me and reaching around me to pull the door open. I stepped out of the way so it didn't hit me and followed him over to my room. He banged on the door, yelling, "Open the damn door." The click of the lock immediately met our ears and he gestured to the door as if he'd done a magic trick before dead-panning and heading back to his own room. I rushed through the door and shot glares at the two girls who were rolling with laughter. Tonight was going to be a long one.


	12. Chapter 12

**THE LONG AWAITED CLUB CHAPTER!**

 **MATURE CONTENT WARNING!**

 **PLEASE ENJOY!**

* * *

The air was tense as Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and I waited for the boys to come out of their room so we could leave. We were running fashionably late. Sakura was wearing a black long sleeved dress with the sides cut out that showed off her tan skin and slim figure, accentuated with sparkly silver stilettos. Ino was wearing a neon pink bandeau top with a cape-like black jacket and skin-tight leather pants with shoes that matched her top.

I was wearing a dress I was quite uncomfortable in. I'd put on my preferred outfit: a lilac colored flowy dress that ended at the knee and had short sleeves, but Tenten and Ino wrestled it off of me and forced a wine colored thing on in it's place. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline, but that was the only decent thing about it. It ended on the top half of my thighs, entirely too short for my taste, and hugged onto my body like a band-aid would a cut. There were a few expensive looking jewels decorating the bust of the dress, bringing unwanted attention to one of my most problem-ed areas. I was forced into strappy black heels, but luckily they were only three inches, unlike Sakura's five inch stilettos.

Tenten looked at the time on the screen of her phone and huffed loudly, "Neji's going to leave! We need to go!" As if on cue, the boys came out of their room, arguing about Sasuke stealing one of Gaara's shirts. My face heated up as I was reintroduced to Sasuke's sleek appearance. Gaara was wearing a dark red button up shirt that nearly matched his hair with black pants. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, which was quite an attractive look on him, even I had to admit. The muscles on his arms seemed more prominent.

I caught Sasuke's gaze suddenly and nearly jumped out of my skin. He was looking in our direction with a shocked look on his face, a small red hint just barely kissing the plains of his cheekbones. Gaara had to pretty much drag him along as the elevator door opened. He walked toward us as if he were in a daze and I felt nervous. He must've been stunned by how different all of us looked compared to our regular clothes. "Hinata, let's go."

Sakura grabbed my wrist and effectively pulled me out of my trance. I nodded and bustled into the crowded elevator with the others. The two guys finally got in and we were packed in like sardines, everyone touching someone. Sasuke's back was in front of me and I almost willingly drowned in the scent of his cologne. It wasn't overbearingly strong like a lot of teenage boys do it with axe bodyspray, but it was a refined smell that did not give you a headache. Tenten's phone started ringing and she started cussing as she tried to wrestle it back out of her purse. We all groaned as she threw her arms around to try and make room. Finally, she got the phone out and answered, "This is Tenten!" I watched as the color drained from her face. She replied after the person speaking was done, "I'm sorry! I'm running a little behind. I promise I'll be there in fifteen minutes or less, okay?"

It was obviously Neji calling to see if she was standing him up. We WERE twenty minutes late already, not that he knew the rest of us were coming. The club we were going to was humongous and it would be very easy to keep it from him that we were there. We'd just stay on the opposite side of the room with the dance floor separating us. Tenten had drawn us a map of the floor plan there. It had looked like a kindergartner had drawn it, but it did the job. There was a very large, rectangular dance floor in the very middle of the club that split the place in two.

Each side had it's individual bar, seating, and restrooms. So Tenten and Neji would have their date on one side and the rest of us would be on the other side in case Tenten needed help with something. Honestly, I knew better than to believe that Tenten needed our help for this date. She just wanted an excuse to get us all out to go clubbing. I'm pretty sure she knew that we knew as well. Of course, Tenten being similar to Sakura in that they will get what they want one way or another, we didn't even try to fight it and went along. Sakura stood behind me, smoothing my hair down as it had gotten messy whilst being dragged into the elevator. She gave me a quick hug from behind and rested her head on my bare shoulder. I looked over to see her smiling brightly at me. She whispered very quietly, "I'm so excited to dance with you!"

I returned her smile, but mine was more out of courtesy than excitement. I'd never been one to be relaxed in settings such as a club or dance hall. The elevator soon opened and we all strode through the empty entryway and out the front doors. There were more paparazzi than normal since Ino had been spotted entering the building, but we were smart and had the boys stand on each side of our line of party dressed club-goers. They took hundreds of photos, the flashes nearly blinding me as I was pulled along by Sakura and Tenten, who had their arms linked with mine.

This time there were no mishaps with the photographers. My previous opinion stayed true: the night paparazzi had a better sense of boundaries than the day. We all climbed into Tenten's limo, which was much more toned down than the one Karin had had us ride with her in. I suspected Tenten liked the luxurious vehicles, but didn't want to gloat about her financial status by overdoing it. We all talked about unimportant topics for a while as we waited to arrive at Masquerade. As we were pulling up in front of the building, Tenten passed out fake IDs. I accepted mine and nearly choked in surprise with how real they looked. Sakura squealed, "I can't wait to see drunk Hinata!" There were a variety of agreeing noises following her remark, but I just groaned.

I'd drank a few times in the past, but it was always just a glass of wine at an important dinner or a gulp of Neji's whiskey that one time I told him it smelt bad and he dared me to try it. We followed Tenten and Ino past the line at the door and the bouncers didn't even check our IDs before letting us in. I guess being with big names like theirs had it's perks! As soon as we were past the doorway my heart dropped into it's stomach. The music was so loud that I could feel vibrations through my ribs each time the bass hit the speakers. There were so many people already clearly inebriated and gyrating on the dance floor.

Every instinct in my body screamed at me for being even within a mile radius of a place like this, but I was determined to do exactly what the old me wouldn't do and that was to stay and have the best time that I could. We soon found a round booth with dark red leather seating and a sparkly black table and took a seat, wanting to get a drink in before doing anything else. Tenten waited for us all to sit before standing before us and frantically fixing her dress and hair, "How do I look?!" There were various replied of positivity, the loudest being from Ino, who somehow already had a milky looking drink in her hand and had taken a big swig of it, "Sexy bitch!"

Tenten gave us a wink before diving into the crowd of sweaty bodies so she could meet up with Neji. Ino rose to her feet and shook her hips a bit, "I'll be right back with some drinks, don't move." Sakura shouted over the music, "Tequila, Ino-pig!" The three of us left looked at her in shock. She didn't seem the type to drink too much, but she obviously knew what she wanted! Sasuke started chuckling before speaking loudly so we could hear, "I'm not carrying you out of here when you can't handle your liquor." Sakura slapped his arm playfully, but it wasn't flirty anymore. She was completely over her desire to hook up with him and was on the prowl for someone else. I watched silently as her eyes scanned the crowd, seemingly looking for any standouts.

Gaara sat on her other side. He opened his mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted by Ino returning much faster than we'd expected. I turned to greet her, but literally jumped in shock. Naruto and Karin were standing next to her with a few trays full of what had to be at least thirty shots. Most of them weren't even the same color so there was definitely a variety. Sasuke, who was the only one sitting next to me, snorted but said nothing. "Looks like these two were waiting for us to arrive. How nice of them, right?" Ino put an emphasis on the question at the end because she knew we hated Karin but also knew that we had to keep the peace with her for business. Karin gave us a coy smile, "The drinks are on me tonight, Prestige! Oh, and this is Naruto, my cousin."

She knew that Sakura and I knew him, but was pretty much just introducing him to the boys. The redhead was being oddly kind. Was she just being fake or had she started drinking already and was just nicer when she was drunk? Her cheeks were slightly red so maybe the latter was the case. Regardless, Ino sneakily moved and sat down next to me before the other two could, and everyone else scooted down so the two new arrivals could squeeze into the booth. We were all very closely together now and I was again reminded of how amazing Sasuke smelt, but this time Ino's expensive perfume was also stealing my attention. I'd have to ask her the brand. I stared down at the drinks for a moment before looking around at the others.

By looking around at the others, I meant pretending to look at everyone when my real attention was held by a certain blonde male that had made his first appearance since I'd left school. I'd completely forgotten to ask Sakura about her selfie with him in all of the Suigetsu mess. I glanced at him often to try and study the tanned planes of his face. He had a little bit of a baby face, but it was attractive and endearing. His bright blue eyes were as alert and cheerful as they always had been and his smile was just as large and goofy as I remembered. It felt as though I hadn't seen him in ages when really I'd seen him just six days ago when we passed eachother in the hallway. He hadn't even looked at me, but I'd definitely looked at him.

Gosh, that made me sound like a stalker! Sakura didn't wait for anyone to try and start a conversation and quickly selected one of the more clear shots, most likely tequila since there was salt on the rim and a lime next to it. She shot it back and let out an excited "Whoop!" before tossing her hands in the air and dancing a little dance and letting her arms fall over Sasuke and Gaara's shoulders, "Well let's get this party started, you guys!" Naruto let out a laugh and grabbed a random dark colored shot, "Hell yeah, Saku!" The pinkette snatched up another shot, this time the same shade of pink as her hair, and clinked glasses with him before knocking that one back at the same time he did.

Sasuke sighed and let out a "Fuck it." before selecting a random drink and taking the shot. Ino squealed, "Yes! The rest of you hurry up and take a shot! I wanna dance!" I glanced over to Ino nervously and she nudged me with her elbow before speaking at a regular level in my ear, which would be the equivalent to whispering if the music weren't so loud, "Go for the fruity looking ones. They won't be so bad." I gave her a grateful smile and selected a pink one that was identical to the one Sakura had taken and clinked my glass with Karin and Gaara as they both took one as well before shooting it back. It tasted like strawberries and alcohol, which caused my nose to wrinkle slightly as it burned my throat on the way down.

Before I even realized what was happening, Ino was pulling me onto the dancefloor with a giggly Sakura yelling at the Uzumaki's to move out of her way so she could follow. One moment we were walking alone and the next we were swallowed up in a pool of sweaty and gyrating bodies. I could barely hear anything but the bass of the song playing, which was one that I didn't recognize. When it finally seemed that we were in the middle of the dancefloor, Ino turned around to face me and started dancing freely to the music as if this were the place she felt most comfortable in life. It looked that way. She was very IN her element.

There was a warm, fuzzy feeling developing throughout my body, but it was different from the cloudiness that usually accompanied my discomfort. I felt very relaxed and found it easy to start moving to the beat of the music. After a moment, a glass filled with neon blue liquid with a lemon on the rim was shoved into my hand and I opened my eyes to see Sakura wink at me as she took a sip of the exact same drink, but she had one of her own. Where had she managed to score these from so quickly? My curiosity didn't stop me from taking a taste.

To my delight, this drink tasted exactly like the blue raspberry jolly ranchers only with a slight salty aftertaste. The flavor was so good that I couldn't stop myself from knocking back nearly half of the glass. Ino and Sakura laughed loudly, but I couldn't hear it over the music. Sakura moved to dance in front of Ino seductively, their bodies even touching every so often. I kept dancing, feeling quite good, but was confused as to why they'd be dancing on eachother like that. Sakura talked about boys way too much to be gay, and Ino...well I actually couldn't tell with Ino.

Regardless, it all started making sense when I noticed the hooded glances they'd started making towards the group of men that had started to form around us. Some had female partners that they were starting to divert their attention from and some were obviously on the prowl for the two girls dancing in the middle of the floor. The two were obviously trying to attract men to ask them to dance. When I noticed a few of the men getting antsy to move closer, I took a large gulp of my drink for courage before stepping in front of one of them to block their way to Sakura. I grabbed her free hand in my own and started dancing with her.

She smiled brightly, cheeks flushed with a mixture of the alcohol and physical activity. She motioned for me to take another drink with her and I did, finishing off my glass. When I reopened my eyes, I noticed my vision was doubling ever so slightly every once in a while. It was obvious to me that I had a strong buzz starting. It wasn't that I'd had that much alcohol, it's that I'd drank what I had way too quickly. The song changed and it was one that I vaguely recognized, and I uncharacteristically let out a shout of excitement along with my two dance partners and danced eagerly to the music. I felt so good.

This had to be what it felt like to be normal. The shy old Hinata who hid in the piano room while her bullies searched for her would've never been able to handle this kind of situation. Pride filled my chest like a balloon and it only added to the joy that I was feeling. Once that song ended, Ino pulled Sakura and I out of the crowd so we could take a rest. She led us to the booth where the two boys sat waiting, Naruto and Ino nowhere in sight.

 **-Gaara's POV-**

Sakura was just looking for trouble the moment that tequila hit her pale lips. She tilted her head back and I watched in near-agony at the slight movement of her neck as she swallowed the potent liquid. She shot me her usual, dazzling smile and rested her arms over Sasuke and my's shoulders. I noticed his eyeroll out of the corner of my eye, and Hinata's concerned look to his right. My skin burned under her touch, even if there was a layer of clothing separating our skin from actually touching. It took every ounce of self-restraint to not reach over and touch one of her very-bare, very-silky looking legs.

For a girl as smart and strong as her, she never seemed to notice how difficult she makes things for me. She couldn't even begin to comprehend the emotions that crept up when I looked at her in the dress she was wearing. A dark cloud quickly formed over the top of my good mood. She wasn't dressed up like this to impress me. Some asshole in this building was going to grab her attention and try to coax something precious from her.

My mind drifted to our conversation last night as Sasuke decided to take a drink. I'd been so quick to get offended by her initial rejection that I didn't even try to think of any other reason for it than her finding me unattractive, but she'd hinted that there was another reason behind it. Doesn't she know how much I care for her? Does she realize that her smile lightens my mood? Did she notice that I could never seem to keep my eyes off of her? Of course I knew that by doing something as intimate as I'd offered, I'd be potentially ruin our newly budded friendship, but if that meant that she wouldn't look back one day and have terrible memories of some drunk guy taking advantage of her, then I'd take one for the team.

I would suffer in silence if it meant that she had a pleasant memory for her first time. Of course the act would be no chore for me, but it was obvious that she didn't reciprocate my feelings. She was the type of girl that needed a head-strong, "lead-male" type of guy. Someone tall and built with a confident personality. Hell, she deserves someone like that to cherish her and protect her! However, when her and Naruto reached over me to toast their shots before tossing them back, the smile he shot at her had me wanting to take him outside and most likely make a fool out of myself trying to pummel him.

He was Karin's cousin, apparently Sakura's ex-boyfriend, Hinata's childhood crush, and still he'd yet to do a single thing that warranted these negative thoughts from me other than smile at her. He made me uneasy and my knowledge of me not having any right to feel that way made it even worse. I didn't fight it as Sakura quickly shoved a glass in my hand and quickly did as she asked. The bitter liquid burned going down, but it was nothing that I couldn't handle. Hinata tossed back a shot before being practically dragged out of the booth and towards the floor by Ino.

Sakura smacked my arm lightly, hollering, "You guys move! I've gotta go!" The other two on my left quickly got out of the booth so I could get out of Sakura's way. She bounded after the other two. She was stopped by a waiter, who said something to her before handing her two drinks. She accepted the drinks before running off after her friends. Someone bought them drinks? My eyes scanned the bar area, only to see dozens of men's eyes following the girls. Any one of them could've sent them. I noticed Naruto disappear towards the bathroom and Karin disappear into the crowded dancefloor, but not in the direction the other girls had headed. She was probably going to party by herself since it was obvious none of us liked her being here.

I glanced over at Sasuke, who shook his head at me with an annoyed look before motioning to the drinks. We took a few shots together, having a silent conversation about how much these women stressed us out. Sasuke had drank a bit before we'd come, which I had warned him against but he refused to listen. The redness on the bridge of his nose and cheeks hinted that he truly should've laid off. He sat there with a dazed look of annoyance as he watched for the girls. We could tell where they were in the crowd solely by Sakura's pink head bobbing up and down, but other than that we couldn't see what they were doing. "Hey guys! Where is everyone!"

I looked over from the crowd and saw Tenten standing there with a red face, but it didn't seem to be from alcohol. I motioned out to the dance floor and she sighed before plopping down next to Sasuke and leaning her head on his shoulder. He raised an eyebrow at her, but just let her be as she explained herself, "I really like him, guys. He's so fancy, though! He's never going to want a serious relationship with me! I'm a damn popstar and he's this rich businessman with manners and stuff. What am I gonna do?" I just stared at her in confusion. She looked back at me expectantly for a moment before realizing I didn't have a reply before glancing up at Sasuke to see his gaze back on the crowd. He wasn't even listening. She huffed and jumped back up to her feet, "Screw you guys!" She stole one of the shots that were left, about half were gone, and swallowed it in one gulp before slamming down the now-empty glass and stomping off in the direction of the other side of the club, seemingly to return to her date.

There was a loud laugh coming from the other direction and I turned to see Ino dragging two tipsy girls behind her. Sakura plopped down next to me and tossed an arm around my shoulders again, "Gaara, will you dance with us at least once tonight?" Ino sat on her other side, crossed her legs in a grand gesture, and put her arm around Sakura's shoulders so she could reach to pull a strand of my hair. I glanced at her and she gave me a wink with a big smile, "Yeah, Gaara. How about the next dance?"

She knew. The way that she winked at me gave it away. She knew that I liked Sakura. I glanced down at the giggly girl, who was leaning over the table to take another shot with Hinata and Sasuke. Hinata briefly caught my attention. Her usually shy smile was wide and carefree, giving her a completely different look. It didn't even look like the same girl was sitting at our table. Everyone else seemed to notice this as well, as she was the center of attention. The blunette let out a small laugh after setting her glass back down, and leaned over lightly to touch Sasuke's arm, who looked utterly and completely lost as she began talking to him confidently. I could've laughed at the stunned look on his face.

Ino drew my attention away from the amusing scene as she rose to her feet and straightened her bandeau top before talking over the music, "I'm going to check on Tenten! Don't do anything stupid!" Naruto suddenly came out of the crowd and she grabbed his arm before he could join us at the table. She glued herself to his side and obviously said something flirty to him before dragging him off with her. I felt guiltily relieved that his presence wasn't near Sakura. How petty and jealous of me. I glanced down at the girl against my own side and felt panic rise as she took yet another shot.

"Sakura, you should slow down..." The words left my mouth before I could stop them. The concern I felt overpowered my usually pristine self-control. The pinkette glanced up at me before putting a manicured hand over my mouth. She picked up another shot and sipped half of it silently before moving her hand and placing the cold glass against my lips with a coy smile. The blatant flirting caught me off guard and I did what she wanted, accepting the remainder of the drink and quickly swallowing it. She let her hand fall to touch my knee, the glass held between two of her fingers, and leaned closer to my ear so she could talk where just I'd hear, "Maybe you should speed up, Gaara."

She said my name slowly as if each syllable were it's own word and it did things to me that I didn't know how to handle. The hairs on my arms and neck rose. Sasuke's gaze shooting over to us was painfully obvious, but I was grateful for the distraction. It was obvious that the alcohol was talking and Sakura wouldn't normally act like that with me. I moved her hand away from my leg with one of my own, trying to help my nerves, but she took that as an invitation and grabbed the hand before rising to her feet and pulling me towards her, "Let's go dance!"

I looked back at Sasuke, who was looking between the now talkative Hinata, who had yet to stop talking since she'd taken her shot, and me. I nodded at him before allowing Sakura to pull me with her to the crowd. If I was with her on the floor, no creeps would try to take her home, but was it selfish of me to want to enjoy the little bit of attention she was paying me? The song changed as soon as we got into the middle of the crowd, and just my luck it was a fast song. Sakura cheered and jumped up and down excitedly, grabbing my hands as she started dancing easily to the music.

I danced with her, but not nearly as energetic as she was. I just wanted to take her all the way in. The way her hair stuck to the side of her face, the way sweat trickled down her neck, and how beautiful she looked as she sang along with the overwhelming speakers. The song changed to a more popular song and before long floor was getting more and more crowded as the song drew more people out to the floor. Someone accidentally bumped her and soon the girl was pressed up against my chest.

Her nose hit my shoulder lightly, and she quickly jerked her head up to face me. Our hands were still clasped together, and I could feel her quick breaths hit my face as I stared into her hazy green eyes. Before I realized what was happening, she was leaning forward slightly, an obvious invitation to kiss her. I couldn't do it, not like this. I closed my mouth and leaned down so she could hear me, "Let's go check on the others."

I pulled back to see her face had turned a bright red. Tears were welling up in her eyes. Oh God. She thought I was rejecting her. She ripped her hands from mine and took off in the direction of the bar Tenten and Neji were supposed to be. I tried to grab at her hand, but missed and found myself searching the crowd for pink hair.

 **-Hinata's POV-**

I plopped down next to an annoyed looking Uchiha, who nudged me when my arm accidentally brushed his. I gave him a quick glare before a giggle escaped my lips at his grumpy face. Not even the great scary Sasuke Uchiha could faze me in this state! The joyous feeling running through my veins overflowed as I happily took a shot with him and Sakura, who was clinging onto Gaara in a way she really shouldn't if she didn't want to lead him on. She'd told me all about her small crush on him and how he'd offered to sleep with her so she wouldn't have to let a stranger do it.

It was kind of exciting to find out that my hypothesis had been correct and that he did care about her. I just hadn't realized he cared that much! It was incredibly good of Sasuke to turn her down. I glanced up at the stoic man as we both sat down our glasses, "Sasuke Uchiha." I felt brave. The stunned look that graced his marvelous features only egged me on, "What is your problem with me? Did I do something to offend you and now you've made it your life goal to make me uncomfortable?" The words were flowing out of me and I didn't care enough to stop them. He opened his mouth to reply, but I didn't even let him, "I'll have you know that you can just hate me by yourself because I'm done being negative. I feel so good right now and I just want to get along with you. Look, Gaara and Sakura are getting along!" We both looked over to see Sakura pretty much kissing the side of the redhead's face as she whispered in his ear. His usually blank face was red and obviously shocked.

We watched as Sakura rose to her feet and pulled Gaara with her. I suddenly had words leaving my mouth again, not even realizing I was talking, "They're gonna go dance! Are you mad at them for leaving me here with you? You shouldn't be so flirty all the time. It really pisses me off. One of these days I'm-" A hand clamped over my mouth, but it didn't hurt. Sasuke's eyes were dark, similar to how they'd looked when we'd had dance practice. Both of my hands reached up to touch his face, which caused him to lower his hand cautiously. "Your eyes look dark again..."

On this night in history, we discovered that Hinata Hyuuga gets word-vomit when she drinks. Sasuke looked unsure of what to do for a moment, before he pulled my hands off of his face and spoke in a teasing voice, "So what do you think? Is Naruto still the one?" My face heated up instantly, but I put my hands in fists as he held my wrists, "Of course he is! Did you not see him? He's so cute and he's so nice to everyone and he does his best at everything-" "Okay, Hyuuga, I get it. Damn."

I glared at him, but he still didn't release my wrists. We were both silent for a moment, just staring at eachother in annoyance for a few moments. I opened my mouth to say something else, but he quickly interrupted, "Let's go dance." My face felt hot all over again. Was it the alcohol this time or had I heard correctly? "Sasuke Uchiha are you really asking me to dance?" The man pulled me to my feet before giving me a light shove in the direction of the dance floor, gesturing for me to lead the way, "I'm not asking." There was a familiar sensation in my lower abdomin that I hadn't felt toward anyone towards Naruto before.

Please no. He quickly realized that I wouldn't be leading him anywhere and pretty much dragged me into the thickening crowd. I suddenly felt much much more drunk. What was in that last shot I'd taken? My vision was completely doubled and I could barely walk straight. I leaned against Sasuke's chest for support once we'd stopped walking. His scent overwhelmed me and I quickly turned my back to him in panic. How could a human being smell so damn good?

I nearly toppled over, but his hands quickly gripped each of my hips, simultaneously holding me upwards and urging me to move with him to the music. It was so sweaty. My whole body was on fire, but his breath on my neck was hotter. My body swayed in time with his and one of my arms snaked up to pull lightly on the hair at the base of his neck. He grunted in my ear and the sensation in my stomach returned. I felt my throat vibrate as a noise undoubtedly left me, but it was masked by the music. My other hand clasped tightly on top of one of his that were pressing against me ever so intimately.

A sudden wave of dizziness rolled over me and my double vision turned to triple. My legs gave out almost immediately and my thoughts became jumbled. I felt Sasuke rush to adjust his hold on me so I wouldn't fall to the ground. He hoisted me upright so he could pull my arm around his back and hold me up with one arm under my shoulder blades. My lips were still moving with words that I didn't know I was saying, but I didn't know what they were and didn't know how to stop them. We stumbled along through the crowd for what felt like full minutes before I was suddenly pulled into a room and my back was pressed against something hard. The music could barely be heard now. I, instead, heard his deep voice barking at someone before a door slammed shut and he moved to lock it with his free hand.

So it was a wall I was against. It was cold and felt good against the parts of bare skin that touched it directly. He helped me slide down to sit on the floor before leaving me. My eyeslids were heavy, but I wasn't mentally tired. My body felt twenty times heavier than normal and everything seemed to move in slow motion one moment and then double speed the next. My head bobbed to the side and I struggled to hold up one of my hands to test my vision. I could make it out, but the picture was distorted. A hand suddenly clamped down on my raised one and Sasuke's serious face was suddenly mere inches away. Again, my lips moved on their own accord, but I couldn't remember what I was saying even as I was saying it. He moved his hand from my own and lifted my head up to look him directly in the eyes. Those eyes. He had the smolder down, even if he didn't mean to.

His jaw twitched as he clenched it and that heat in my bones returned, a noise that I didn't recognize slipping past my lips. His face looked shocked for a moment, but quickly switched to one of complete seriousness. He said something, causing my lusty gaze to travel down to his mouth. Gone was the cocky smirk and in it's place lay a frown. I just barely made out the words he spoke, "Did any of your drinks taste salty?"

Salty? He was kneeling in front of me looking every bit of an angel and a demon at the same time, sent to Earth to make a mockery of my confidence and he was asking how I thought my drinks had tasted? I struggled to keep my gaze on him straight. It were as if he was moving his head side to side, but I knew that he was keeping still. I willed my hand to reach up and touch his face, any piece of it, but I couldn't get it above shoulder length without it wavering. He suddenly raised his voice, making everything slightly more clear, "Hinata! Listen to me, did you taste any salt?"

Annoyance coursed through my veins. Now he was going to yell at me? What the hell was his problem? I forced out a reply, "Yes, you jerk! The jolly rancher thingy..." I knew I should feel scared that I wasn't in full control of my body AND I was locked in some room with a man alone, but I didn't. I suppose my subconscious was, but none of it registered.

I just felt good. I felt hot and bothered and I didn't know what to do to quench it.

Sasuke reached into his pocket with his free hand and pulled out his cellphone. My vision became dark and swirly and when he started talking to whoever he was calling, I couldn't understand what he was saying. It was as if he was speaking a different language. He finished his call and suddenly I was a puddle of dizziness. Everything was moving and mesmerizing, but my lidded eyes eventually slid shut and I fell easily into unconsciousness.

 **-Sasuke's POV-**

This god damn Hyuuga just had to get slipped a date rape drug. Her head fell limp against my hand as I finished my call to the cab service and I took a moment to survey her being. The piece of cloth that could be considered her dress was riding up dangerously high on her thighs. It would be so easy to take advantage of her like this. It was no trouble at all getting her into this bathroom and clearing it out so we could be alone. Imagine if someone other than me had been there when she'd nearly collapsed.

Her face was relaxed in her slumber. I honestly envied her comfort right now. Her dark hair was wavy and falling into her face as she leaned slightly to the side. A softer emotion crept up on me and I had the urge to lightly push it out of her face, but I caught it before it could go to far and let an annoyed sigh leave my body with a whoosh. I lifted her thin figure easily and got her onto my back, piggyback style, with little trouble.

She nuzzled her face into the crook of my neck and a familiar sensation ran through my bones. She can't keep doing that or we'd have a problem. It was hard enough seeing her dressed so scantily and having her dance so casually with me. I didn't need her arousing me in the middle of a predicament such as this, too. The feeling of her body pressed so closely against mine not ten minutes ago clouded my vision, but I quickly shook the thought away and snuck out of the bathroom to search for an exit. It was best to get her out of there discretely so no paparazzi would get wind of this.

I'd tossed my jacket onto her so her dress riding up wouldn't be visible to anyone that might spot our escape. How marvelous was it that my jacket was much longer than her whole outfit? Her smooth skin against my fingertips answered that question. Pretty marvelous. Cut that shit out, Sasuke. Women pine over you, not the other way around. I'll be damned if the Hyuuga of all people will be the one that changes the game. She was so shy and boring. Despite how mean I tried to be towards her in my thoughts, my sub conscience was throwing contradictions at me left and right. A boring girl wouldn't have even agreed to come out tonight. A shy girl wouldn't have been able to stand up to a guy like Suigetsu like she had a few nights ago.

No. She was quickly growing out of every single bad quality she had when she'd first fallen in front of me in the hallway and was quickly developing every single thing that drove me insane. Things like how soft her speaking voice naturally was and how she obviously gave one hundred percent in everything she did made it hard to keep up the facade that I disliked her. My cab pulled up just as I slipped out of an emergency exit and I diligently slipped her off of my back and into the back seat while maneuvering myself in beside her. Her head rested against my arm.

The driver already knew where to go from my phone call and immediately started driving. I glanced down at the vulnerable girl beside me and felt unease. Who had sent her the drink? Hadn't Sakura had one too? I quickly fished my phone back out of my pocket and called Gaara's phone, only for it to ring for a while then to send me to his voicemail. I let out an annoyed sigh and hung up, choosing to text him instead. I let him know that Hinata's drink had been spiked with what seemed to be ecstasy and that Sakura's may have as well and that I was with the Hyuuga and taking her home. After sending it, I glanced down at the pale girl again. She'd lazily wrapped an arm around my waist in her sleep.

Why can't we all just have one night without something crazy happening?

 **-With Gaara-**

I searched for what felt like hours in the crowd for Sakura, but with no luck. Eventually I made it to the other side of the bar to see Ino sitting at the bar with Tenten standing next to her, seemingly pretending to order a drink so she could talk to her without Neji noticing. I approached them, but stopped when I heard what they were saying. "Who would've thought Karin would buy the drinks? Makes everything easier for us!" Ino nodded in agreement, "Someone else is sending them drinks, too. I've left them alone so hopefully something good comes out of this."

Anger rushed through my veins. So they were trying to get the girls drunk on purpose? Didn't they know how dangerous that was in a place like this? My instincts lead to me walk away before they noticed me, for I'd most likely say something to them that I'd regret later on. That was a conversation for later, when I've had a while to simmer down. Right now, I had to focus on finding Sakura before something bad happened to her.

My eyes skimmed the dancing crowd once again for pink, but still had no luck. With a sigh, I turned to head towards the bathrooms, only for a flash of pink to catch my gaze. Sakura was leaning very heavily against a blonde guy that was leading her towards the emergency exit beyond the bathrooms. I rushed over and grabbed his shoulder, "Hey!" To my surprise, Naruto's stunned gaze met mine and he looked panicked for a moment before realizing it was me. Relief flooded through my veins. At least it wasn't some random creep trying to take her home. Hinata liked this guy and Sakura had dated him so he couldn't be too bad of a person, even if he was Karin's relative.

"Hey, Gaara right? I think she had a little too much." He turned to face me fully and I took in Sakura's state. She didn't seem conscious at all, with bright red cheeks and a completely slack body. I reached over and took her weight from him, letting her fall onto my shoulder gently, "I'll make sure she get's home then, thank you." He seemed hesitant to let her go, but eventually nodded before heading off to check on his cousin. My phone vibrated in my pocket, but I couldn't get to it right now so I let it ring to voicemail as I adjusted Sakura so I could get her outside. She didn't need to be in a stuffy place like this if she was as drunk as she seemed. The cool wind shook the sweat off of my skin in an instant, so I knew it had to help her a bit.

I led us over to sit on an empty bench on the sidewalk before glancing at her. She hadn't budged. Maybe I should just take her back to the agency for the night. She'd be aghast if she woke up to find out she'd gotten trashed and someone from the press had gotten coverage of it. No one knew who we were yet, but we'd come in with Tenten and Ino so a few photographers might put two and two together and figure out that we were somebodies, or at least going to be. A cab was coming up the road and I quickly flagged it down as best I could from the bench. When it came to a stop at the side of the road, I lay Sakura down in the backseat and sat in the front with the driver. It was a burly old man who looked at me suspiciously, "I know you're not taking this girl home to take advantage of her, young man."

I felt all color leave my cheeks. I hadn't even thought about how this must look to others. I fumbled out a reply, "No, sir! We're siblings." The lie slipped out before I could think up any other excuse that might convince him. It wouldn't be too hard to believe since we both had tan skin and a variety of red hair. That seemed to do the trick and he put in the address I gave him for the agency and started driving. Once we were back at the agency, I slipped us into the building from a side door that Tenten had shown me she uses when she doesn't want paparazzi catching her out late.

Once we were indoors, I made it easier to move with Sakura by hoisting her up into my arms bridal style. She wasn't heavy at all. After making it upstairs by elevator, I realized I didn't have the keys to my room. Only Sasuke had taken his since we were supposed to go and come back together. I glanced down and noticed Sakura had a very small cross-body purse and felt conflicted. It was wrong to go through someone's personal belongings, but wouldn't she prefer it if it meant I could get her into her own bed instead of sleeping in the hallway?

I gently let her legs fall to the ground so I could lean her against the wall beside her and Hinata's door while I quickly rummaged through her purse until I found her keys. It was easy enough to hoist her back up and carry her through the door and to her bedroom. I felt so very wrong for doing all of this without her permission. It felt morally bad to enter her room and bedroom without her even knowing. I lay her lightly onto the cherry red sheets of her bed before carefully taking her shoes off of her feet. After placing them, and her purse, on her bedside table, I gently adjusted her so she could lay comfortably.

To my horror, she grumbled just as I moved to cover her up with a blanket, "mmm..."

Bright green eyes shot open and locked onto my own nervous ones, "...Gaara?" Her voice sounded off. Perhaps she really had drank way too much. I quickly went to move my hands away from her, but she fumbled to grab onto them, "Gaara..." She said my name again, this time in a huskier voice. Don't let this be happening right now. She had told me no while sober and that was the answer I would cling to until she changed her mind while SOBER.

It was impossible to stop her from reaching her arms up past mine and snaking around to grab each of my shoulders, "Come here." She pulled me down onto the bed with a strength I didn't know she had and quickly switched our positions so she was straddling my waist and leaning down over me. Our noses were touching. All it would take was the slightest movement of either of our heads and we'd be kissing. She simply stared into my eyes, and I stared stunned right back at her until I realized exactly how bloodshot her eyes were and how small her pupils were for being in a dark room.

She wasn't just drunk, that much was now obvious. Someone had drugged her, which would explain why she was acting the way she was. I willed my eyes to stick to hers as all it would take is a slight glance down to see what kind of underwear she was wearing. Her dress had slid up in all of her movement. Jesus Christ, help me.

"Gaara, baby, how could you think I don't want you?" My eyes widened as I realized what she was talking about. She leaned back up from my face and moved to fumble with the back of her dress. I was too stunned to move. She looked so devastatingly gorgeous in the moonlight. Her hair was soft and straight and the sultry look on her face left me memorized. Quicker than I thought possible, in her state, she had the dress unzipped and was pulling her arms out of it, "I do want you." Soon she pulled the dress up over her head and tossed it to the side of the room.

I squeezed my eyes shut to try and show her some respect. I felt her weight shift as she leaned back down towards me and I felt the softness of her lips brushing against my ear as she repeated herself in a whisper, "I want you so bad, Gaara." A breath escaped me as she ground her body against the part of my body that had quickly began to harden. A gasp escaped her lips as she undoubtedly felt it. There was a pause before she whispered even quieter, "You want me too."

She snaked a hand down and my eyes shot open when it gently rubbed the front of my pants. What the fuck was I doing?! This has to stop! I quickly rolled over on top of her and held her hands away from my body, "Sakura, we can't do this." I felt her try to fight against me, but I was stronger and held her still. She argued in that same husky voice, "I know you want to, baby. It's okay, let's just-" I cut her off, her bright eyes wide as she seemed to finally understand what was going on, "Not like this, Sakura. I'm not doing this." Her muscles relaxed and she stared up into my eyes for what felt like years. I held my gaze steady to let her know that I meant it. She eventually let out a small nod and I climbed off of her. I went to get out of the bed, but she clasped my hand, "At least lay with me." This all felt so so so wrong. I searched her face for any hidden agenda, but found none. She breathed out a plea, "Please."

A groan left my lips and I let my body fall onto the mattress next to her. She held my gaze as she pulled the comforter up around us and lay on her side to face me. Her hand never let go of mine, even after she fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**OKAY SO VERY VERY VERY MATURE CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER!**

 **Please read all the way through because there may be a twist at the end :D**

 **Thank you, as always, to my amazing followers and reviewers! Enjoy!**

* * *

 **-Hinata's POV-**

When I woke up, I felt something hard beneath me. I could tell I was in a car before even opening my eyes by the way the ground felt under my bare feet. Where were my shoes? My eyes cracked open and I saw someone's lap and my shoes laying abandoned in the floorboard. Everything still felt like a dream. Every sense of mine was magnified to the point where it couldn't be real.

For example, the agonizing aroma of that all too familiar cologne made the hair on my arms stand on end. The soft tickle of someone running their hand through my hair sent shivers down my spine. I let my eyes slide back closed. One of the only memories I had of my mother was her touching my hair like that. It had to be a dream. The hand continued it's melodic movements for a few moments as I slid in and out of sleep until the vehicle suddenly lurched to a stop and I heard a familiar deep voice mutter some words before the hard thing I was laying on suddenly moved. The gentle hand that had coaxed me suddenly gave my arm a rough shake. It was as if there was a record scratch and everything came crashing down.

That didn't feel so dreamy. My eyes shot open and I sat up, looking around frantically as everything felt abruptly less magical. A strangers gruff face met my eyes. A small scream slipped past my lips and the man rolled his eyes before turning away. It was then that I noticed he was driving the car I was in. My vision was still very distorted, but I managed to comprehend that he was not going to do me any harm. The world was still very much spinning and I struggled to reach for my shoes, losing my grip and toppling into the spacious floorboard with absolutely no grace.

That same muffled voice said something in an annoyed voice, but I couldn't understand what it was. I struggled to look at whoever was talking, but a wave of dizziness rolled over me and I decided that getting out of this car would be the best thing to prioritize. How did I even get in this car? Where was everyone else? Oh God! I was still in this god damn excuse for a dress. What was this soft thing that I was wearing over it, though? The door opened to the backseat and whoever or whatever I was resting on before was removed from the area. I managed to finally pull myself up into the seat, only to have someone grab my arm and help me stand up with my bare toes curling into the soft grass. A content sigh filled the air and I think it came from me, but I couldn't be certain. The cool earth felt amazing beneath my sore feet. The voice said something to the driver before closing the car door so the cab could leave. My eyes struggled to focus on anything but my bare feet, when it struck me, once again, that my shoes weren't on them. I whirled around, "My shooo-"

Suddenly I was laying on my back in the grass and a pair of annoyed black eyes were staring into my very soul. Sasuke? It was like looking at someone when you try to open your eyes underwater without goggles. You could tell who it was, but the picture wasn't very clear. His next words were clear as day, though, "I see there've been some upgrades to the granny panties, Hyuga."

Annoyance and humiliation rocked through me. Maybe I'd gone shopping and by coincidence purchased some more adult and attractive undergarments after the hallway incident and maybe I didn't. Either way, I struggled to get to my feet while he snickered at my feeble attempt to redeem my appearance. Finally he'd had enough of watching me suffer and I felt his strong arm wrap around my waist to help me up. Once I was on my feet, he handed me my high-heels, which I accepted with a frown.

The cab had dropped us off a bit away so the paparazzi wouldn't notice us. We were then on our trek through the grass towards the backdoor entrance of the agency. I remembered how he had been drinking quite a bit as well and wondered how he was acting so sober when it was clear that he'd been quite tipsy at the club. I nearly toppled over as we stepped into the elevator and his grip on my waist tightened ever so slightly. We stood in silence, but flashbacks of how his body felt against mine while we were dancing were making it hard to keep my legs still. It didn't help that just that thought alone had my skin lightly dusted with perspiration. What the hell was going on with me, tonight? I'm not one to so easily to let my emotions get to me.

Even if I felt aware that what I was doing was not normal, I couldn't help but look up at him when the door dinged and opened. He looked down at me and we both froze for a moment, just looking at each other in silence. One moment I was nearly shaking with the urge to do absolutely anything and everything to quench the heat that was pooling in my abdomen and in a blink my legs were wrapped around his waist and my lips were on his neck.

Had I jumped on him? I didn't know. All I knew was that when my back hit the wall beside his room's door, I'd never felt so physically attracted to anyone in my whole damn life. This wasn't like how it was with Naruto. With Naruto, it felt pure and perfect. With Sasuke, however, it felt taboo and flawed in only the most tempting of ways. It was everything that went against what old me would've wanted and that's exactly why it was what I was attracted to. He was different. One of his hands held me tightly against him while the other fumbled with the keys for a few moments while he tried to get the door open.

A sound I didn't recognize slipped out of me as I continued my attack on his jawline. I could feel his muscular torso flexing between my legs as he finally got the door open and took back on the full capacity of my weight so he could carry me into his room. I heard him kick the door shut behind him and toss the keys to the side before his other hand reconnected with my body, eagerly memorizing it's layout. A wall hit my back and finally he made me move my head back so he could hungrily press his lips against mine. My first real kiss. He pressed his body against mine to help hold me against the wall and he used that leverage to free his hands so he could explore my legs and torso. My own hands found themselves dancing frantically over his body, anywhere I could touch.

There was no sound but our heavy breathing. His tongue suddenly slipped into the passionate kiss we were sharing and my breath hitched in surprise. He knew what he was doing. It was obvious. My hands found themselves tangled in his hair as our tongues danced. Everything felt so good. I couldn't keep my eyes open, the pleasure was so intense. My skin was on fire. His strong arms lifted me briefly as he carried me to what I assumed was his bedroom. I landed on the bed with a soft thud, his body separating from mine. The lack of his physical being between my arms and legs had my eyes shooting open.

My vision was starting to refocus a bit from earlier and I could clearly see a light red dusting on Sasuke's cheekbones accompanied by a very serious facial expression that sent a fire down my body that I couldn't handle. I slid what I'd finally identified as his jacket off of me and sat up so I could grab his arm and pull him toward me. His bed was high enough off of the ground that he only had to kneel down to climb on top of me. His body felt so much bigger than mine. How hadn't I noticed the difference in height between us before?

We stared into each other's eyes hungrily for a moment while he slowly clasped each of my hands in his, effectively pinning them to the bed. A flashback of Suigetsu doing the same thing should've had me terrified, but instead I felt even more attracted to Sasuke for doing it to me while I was a willing participant. He slowly leaned down and gave the area just below my earlobe a chaste kiss. His breath was hot against my damp skin and I struggled against his grip. Waves of pure attraction were rolling down my body and it was struggling to keep from closing the slight distance between our bodies. He'd held himself up slightly so as not to crush me. He seemed to like it when I struggled because he nibbled at my ear for a moment before slowly letting his tongue dance down my neck.

A seductive moan broke the silence and I couldn't believe it'd come from me. He grunted and suddenly all hell broke loose again. My hands were suddenly free to move, which they did, rushing to unbutton his shirt. His lips pressed against mine as if he were pouring all of his frustrations into them. His hands explored my chest, greedily kneading and feeling all that I had to offer in the region. When I finally pulled his shirt open, I pulled away from his hungry kisses so I could sneak a peak of the muscles that had been hidden underneath. My hands trekked up and down his torso before sliding to pull him down against me. He held back for a moment, causing me to pause. I looked up to meet his gaze, which had that dark look in them that I now realized was him holding back.

He leaned back away from me, grabbing my shoulder so I'd sit up. I did, utterly confused and completely bothered that he'd stopped our fun. My disappointment ended when he pretty much picked me up and tossed me against the pillows so we'd be laying on the bed properly. Before I could lay back down, he was all over me once again. His mouth attacked mine, tongues battling for glory. I didn't notice his hands unzipping the dress I was wearing until the cold air met my bare skin. The cloth slid down and he skillfully helped guide it completely off of my body without breaking our kiss for more than a second.

Now we were both under the covers despite being very hot and sweaty. We made out for a while before I had finally had enough of the idleness and wanted to take it to the next step. One of my hands slipped down to feel the hardness that had formed through the cloth of his pants. It was obvious that he wanted to move forward to. I quickly slid my other hand down as well and struggled for a moment to unbuckle his belt and undo his pants. It was then that my hands were forced back up by stronger, much larger ones, and pinned above my head. His lips left mine and he pulled back his face so he could look me in the eye for a moment. There was a devilish smirk on his lips that sent a shiver down my spine despite being breathless with sweat.

He dipped his head back down to kiss my neck gently. I thought he wanted to slow things down until I felt a soft rub against the front of my underwear. My body twitched with a mixture of shock and excitement. He didn't wait to apply a bit more pressure with his finger and slowly moved in a circular motion in just the right spot. A shocked intake of breath rocked my body and I one hundred percent had to make him continue. I bent my legs so his torso was in between them and it would be easier for him to do whatever he wanted to do, and easier for me to press into him. A deep chuckle sounded in my ear and he ever so slowly so as to tease me slid his hand beneath the lacy cloth so he could touch me with no layers separating us.

My panties were pretty damp from my attraction and this seemed to excite him. He began pressing even circles into me, various soft noises of pleasure slipping past my lips without my permission. Was there anything he wasn't good at? His lips disappeared from my neck and he trailed them down to my stomach, the flames inside my body following the direction his mouth was heading. Once he was at my panty-line, he could no longer reach to hold my hands so they were free to wrap themselves in his hair or grip his shoulder. He looked me in the eye as he pulled his other hand from my panties and started to slide the black piece of cloth down. I was panting. They were discarded quickly and he wasted no time in burying his head between my legs. The first thing I felt was his breath against my skin.

It tickled. I squirmed, but he gripped each of my legs firmly before suddenly licking the entire length of my entrance. A surprised yet still pleasured, and loud, moan passed my lips. I could feel him smile. His tongue started moving, slowly at first and then picking up speed as my moans encouraged him. I was already nearly bucking at him when one of his hands disappeared from my thighs and I felt a sudden intrusion. My eyes that were once squeezed shut in ecstasy shot open and I looked down to see that he was slowly starting to pump his middle finger in and out of me.

The tension in my lower body was slowly building up and I didn't know what to expect as the outcome, but I knew that I had to find out. He couldn't stop. I found myself gasping out pleas for him to continue, "More! More, Sasuke!" He was suddenly on top of me again and he'd let his undone pants slide down his legs, which he then kicked off. He clasped his hands over mine and held them down, once again. His eyes were locked onto mine and the look in his eyes was nearly crazy. His voice was clearer than it had been the entire night, "Let me have you." I nodded eagerly, struggling to move my arms so I could pull him closer myself. Bent his knees, pushing mine slightly further apart as he positioned himself above me. I felt it. His dick was touching my entrance.

He slowly thrusted forward, pressing it inside me as slowly as he could. To my delight, there was only a slight ache that dulled once he was fully sheathed. It felt bigger than I thought it would. I wonder what he looked like? He paused for a moment, most likely to make sure I was alright, before pulling out suddenly, making me gasp at the wave of pleasure that shocked me like lightning. He then shoved it back in, much faster than the first time. It didn't hurt at all. In fact, it felt incredible. His forehead was against the pillows to the right of my face. Before I could react, he began thrusting in and out at an agonizing pace. His hips rolled against mine and his pelvic area rubbed against just the right spot each time he thrusted inwards.

My hands were trying to make fists over his and my moans were filling the air, small grunts from him punctuating every other one like a sentence. His thrusts were steadily starting to pick up pace, the tightening in my body becoming more and more hard to hold in. Just before I reached my peak, he stopped and pulled out, releasing my hands and flipping me over with little to no effort. I was on my knees and elbows, confused until he suddenly reentered from the new angle.

His breath hit the back of my ear with each thrust, and I found that I liked this new position even more. He went even deeper at this angle, soon emitting near screams from me. He suddenly pushed my shoulders down and stopped leaning over me. His hands gripped my hips and he pulled my body back each time he thrusted so our bodies would meet with an even harder impact. I quite liked being handled like that.

Almost instantly, the bundle of nerves in my body exploded in an overwhelming wave of pleasure. His name left my lips in a rush of pleasure. His voice was suddenly very clear and further away, "Are you dreaming about me, Hyuga?"

My eyes shot open.

A sharp pain ran through my head as I struggled to look around the room. Through my squint, I looked up to see Sasuke in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt with a cup of coffee in his hands. What is going on? There was a knowing smirk on his lips. I glanced down at where I was. I was still in my dress from the night before and I was tangled in a thick black comforter. Was it really just a dream? The heat that rose to my cheeks nearly had me falling back into unconsciousness. A groan slipped past my lips and I let my head flop back down onto the pillow, "My head..."

The rumble of his very real chuckle met my ears and I could tell the difference between this Sasuke and the dream one. It had been so detailed! "You look like hell." I looked at him from the pillow, glad that he had dark curtains blocking the light, "I feel t-terrible. What happened last night?" He leaned against the door frame and his smirk disappeared. "Someone slipped something into your drink so I brought you back before you could get into trouble. You didn't have any keys so I let you sleep here." I groggily pushed myself up to a sitting position, a hand covering my eyes. I had to ask him. I had to be sure. Nervously, I choked out without looking him in the eye, "D-did we..?" He immediately scoffed, nearly spitting out the mouthful of coffee he'd just taken a sip of.

After swallowing, he smiled that cocky smile and raised a suggestive eyebrow, "Do you honestly think I'd go after a girl as fucked up as you were last night? I'm insulted. Why? Was that what you were dreaming about?" I peeked through my fingers at him and rolled my eyes before letting another groan out. My head felt as though it were going to explode. I pushed the blanket off of me and turned to slide off of the bed, pulling the hem of my dress down so it wouldn't show anything before searching the floor for my shoes. His bedroom looked nothing like how I'd pictured it in my dream.

It was very dark with black pillows, blankets, and curtains. He had an acoustic guitar sitting against the wall next to his desk and I briefly wondered if he was good at playing. Finally I located my shoes on the floor underneath his bed and rose to my feet with my belongings in hand. He stepped out of my way as I walked out of the room, intent to get away from him so I could die from embarrassment in peace. Where was Gaara? His bedroom door was open and I could clearly see that the room was empty.

Just as I was about to walk out the front door, Sasuke stopped me, "Hey, uh, what do you remember from last night? I thought back and honestly the last thing I remember was dancing on the floor with Sakura and Ino. The rest was just a few flashes of feeling dizzy and inebriated. I looked back at him, easily picking up on his curiosity despite him trying to hide his interest with a nonchalant expression, "I remember dancing with Sakura. Did I do something bad last night?"

I was overcome with anxiety. Had I made a complete fool of myself in public and just didn't remember it? He very slightly visibly relaxed before shaking his head and taking another sip of his coffee, "I'll never tell." He gave a flirty wink and I knew he was just teasing me. Relief flooded my veins and I shook my head at him before stopping suddenly. He did say he'd brought me back here. He turned to walk towards his room and this time I stopped him, "Thank you, Sasuke." He stopped, but didn't turn back around to face me. I continued, "I don't remember y-you helping me last night, but I really appreciate it. It's n-nice to know I have friends I can count on." My cheeks were burning with nervousness. How would he respond to me actually being honest with him?

He didn't say anything in reply, but receded into his room and shut the door behind him. I left their room with a small smile on my face. He didn't have to worry. I wouldn't tell anyone how nice of a guy he actually was if he didn't want me to ruin his badboy image. "Hinata! Oh my god!" I was immediately pulled into someone's embrace upon shutting the door behind me and entering the hallway. I could tell it was Tenten just by how tightly she squeezed. She never took into consideration that humans had to breathe. She started talking so fast that it was hard to comprehend everything she said, "I was on my date, which didn't go that well but I'll tell you about that later, and then suddenly only me and Ino were left at the club out of all of us! Where's Sakura? Have you seen her? Are Sasuke and Gaara alright? What were you doing in their room?"

She gasped loudly and released me so she could bring her hands up to cover her mouth in surprise before leaning down to whisper, "Did you guys have a threesome?!" Fire erupted onto my face and I pushed her away slightly, too hungover to even try to explain to her how insane of an assumption that was. I started walking towards Sakura and my's room and she followed. Just as I was about to open the door, a high pitched scream bellowed from inside and we looked at each other before rushing in.

 **-Sakura's POV-**

The comfort I felt upon waking up was on a level I'd never thought possible. The sheets felt softer against my skin than ever before and there was a warmth enveloping my body so firmly that I didn't ever want to move again in my life. I took in a slow breath. One of my arms were laying over something that smelt so good. My eyes crept open to see what it was and my body stiffened in surprise.

My head was resting under the chin of a man. I looked at their neck and chest and tried to keep myself calm. Had I done it? Had I taken someone home and done it? I took a quick survey of how my body felt and other than a slight headache from my hangover, nothing felt different. Maybe it was just a rumor that it was painful the first time? I bravely took another sniff of the person's shirt and had to admit they smelled good. At least I'd chosen someone who had good hygiene. It was then that I took notice of my other arm. It was in between our bodies and my fingers were laced loosely with theirs.

That seemed a little too personal for a stranger. I slowly moved my hand away from theirs and grit my teeth when they stirred. There was a deep groan as he stretched a bit, his other arm that was wrapped around my waist tightened its grip and I was pulled even closer to his body. After a second, he froze up as he no doubt noticed me there. I squeezed my eyes shut, scared of what would happen if whoever they were saw I was awake.

What if they wanted to do more now that we were awake? I couldn't help but be terrified. There were no memories of last night other than dancing with Ino and Hinata and then sitting down with Gaara and Sasuke. Oh god, Gaara. What would he think if he found out I'd done it with someone else! He's definitely going to think I'm a slut. There goes that fantasy. A soft pressure on my forehead drew me from my thoughts. It was lips. He kissed my forehead? Who the hell is this person?

My eyes shot open and I pulled back suddenly to look Gaara straight in the eyes. He looked just as shocked as I was. It was then that I noticed I was only in my bra and underwear and I shot up in shock, losing my balance and falling off of the bed with a scream. I felt the bed move as he no doubt had jumped up to try and catch me. My feet fumbled to get flat on the ground, but when they did I shot up and pulled the blanket off to cover my body from his shocked gaze.

A confused yet frantic whisper left me, "Gaara! Oh my god... We did it, didn't we? I'm so sorry!" He looked at me weird for a moment and seemed about to reply when the sound of the front door opening caught both of our attention. We heard both Hinata and Tenten's calls of my name and I quickly had to take action to save both Gaara and I from humiliation. I quickly pulled him towards me and shoved him down to hide on the floor on the other side of my bed.

They wouldn't be able to see him from the doorway from there. He let out a gruff "oof!" as he hit the floor, just in time for my bedroom door to fly open and the worried duo laid eyes on my half-naked form. I, again, went to cover my body with the blanket, "What the hell, guys! Get out!" The two stood there confused for a moment before Tenten spoke up, "Why did you scream? And why are you half-naked?"

I was acutely aware of Gaara's body between my legs and the bed. I quickly thought up an excuse, "I..I fell out of bed! I must've gotten undressed before going to sleep." It didn't take much to fool Tenten and even if Hinata didn't believe me, she didn't argue as the other popstar changed the subject. "Okay, but oooh girl! Look at that bra! Where did you get that? I want one. What size are you? Can I borrow it?"

I glanced down at my smaller b cups and then up at her very obviously bigger ones, "Um...I don't think it'll fit you." She gave a delighted giggled, "Aw, Sakura don't feel bad. You have nice boobs. It's not about size, it's about quality!" My cheeks started heating up and I knew that Gaara would be diverting his gaze from my indecent state. He was always such a gentleman. I shook my head, "Whatever, just get out! I've gotta get ready for a shower." Hinata spoke up and I finally noticed how rough she looked. Her normally perfect hair was messy and tangled down her back and her eye makeup was smeared. There were dark bags under her eyes from an obviously unrestful night.

What the hell happened to her? I'd have to ask her later, when Tenten wasn't around. "Sakura, did you get drugged last night?" She sounded cautious in a way that made it clear that she had. Worry overwhelmed me and I froze. Had I? Most of the night was a blur for me. Could drugs be a reason for that? I had drank quite a bit, but not so much that I should be missing memories. "I...I'm not sure." Tenten looked stricken and she looked between Hinata and I a few times, "Wait, what! What the fuck?"

Hinata looked me in the eye for a moment and I tried to signal to her with my eyes that I needed them to go away for now. She nodded and pulled on Tenten's arm, "L-Let's get some coffee made and then we'll talk." Tenten glanced back at me before following the shorter girl, "Okay, but you'd best not be lying to me! I'll murder whoever it was. Are you hurt?" Her endless line of questions became muffled as the door shut behind them. I climbed back onto the bed and wrapped the comforter completely around my body. Gaara stood and put his hands up in defense, "I didn't do anything to you, I promise."

I searched his face for any sign of dishonesty and found none. I nodded and put my head in my hands, "What happened last night?" He let his eyes wander around my room as he explained, "Someone slipped you and Hinata some spiked drinks. I brought you here and you asked me to lay in bed with you, but that's all that happened." Again, I glanced up at him but his face was slightly pink. Something told me that he was skipping out on some of the details, but if it were something truly important I know he'd tell me. If it was just going to embarrass me, I'd rather he keep it to himself.

I nodded silently for a moment while trying to come up with a plan to get him out of here without being seen. A plan formed in my head. "Alright, I'm going to go to the bathroom and make a big distraction and I want you to make a run for it while I have their attention, okay? I don't need them thinking we actually did something." He gave me a blank nod as if he were contemplating how wrongly this could end, but would still do his part.

I took a deep breath and gestured for him to close his eyes. He did and I quickly went to my closet to pull out a random outfit before opening the bedroom door and leaving it cracked behind me so when he ran, they wouldn't hear the doorknob move. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tenten checking over Hinata for bruises or any other physical sign of injury, hounding her like a worried mother about accepting drinks from strangers.

Little did Tenten know was that I was the one to accept the drinks. I always managed to fuck something up. With a shake of my head, I walked down the hall to the bathroom and sat my clothes on the counter. This was it. With a deep breath, I let out a shrill scream. The other two came bustling towards me, Tenten with a knife from the kitchen in-hand, "What is it!" I saw Gaara sprint out of my room and toward the door and I jumped up and down, "There's a spider! It was right there! Kill it! Kill it!"

Tenten and Hinata also let out squeals and sprinted back out of the bathroom just as the front door shut. Tenten hollered, "You're shit outta luck! I'll fight a burglar for you, but I don't mess with spiders!" I took a deep breath before pretending to look around at the floor, "Oh! I think it was just a ball of hair...Sorry, guys." Hinata put a hand to her chest as though I'd nearly given her a heart attack and Tenten started complaining that the two of us caused her too much stress. I gave a light-hearted laugh before shutting the bathroom door, undressing the rest of the way, and actually climbing into the shower. I turned the water on and let out a sigh when the hot water started running down my body.

When I reopened my eyes an actually real scream left my lips as I saw a legitimate spider crawling on the wall.

Karma is such a bitch!


	14. Chapter 14

**THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING AND READING AND FOLLOWING AND FAVORITING!**

 **YOU ARE ALL RAYS OF SUNSHINE BEAMING DOWN TO PERK UP MY SELF ESTEEM AND I GENUINELY APPRECIATE IT!**

 **This chapter is slightly shorter than usual, but that's only because the next chapter is going to be a bit longer and I didn't want to cut it off in an odd spot.**

 **Pretty soon this story will veer back into being more music-based since the debut is coming up!**

 **I don't know if anyone noticed, but I did update the summary. Did you notice the little spoiler of SakuNaruHina and InoMulti there? ;)**

 **Only time will tell!**

 **Please enjoy the update!**

* * *

 **-Gaara's POV-**

As soon as I stepped through the door of my room, I saw Sasuke sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. He didn't even look up as I shut the door behind me. We weren't really big on talking. He did his whole playboy thing around others, but was silent as a mouse whenever it was just us two. We've been roommates for about a month and a half now. I was the first one chosen to be in the group, Sakura being second, then Sasuke, and finally Hinata.

I remember the day he stepped through the door, accompanied by Kakashi. He'd had one large suitcase and a solemn look on his face as if he were being delivered to a psych ward after experiencing something terrible. Kakashi had mentioned that Sasuke had shown up alone despite his mother being the one that had scheduled the audition. Other than that, I had no personal information about him. We'd lived together for nearly a week before he spoke a single word to me and even it was just him yelling at me through my closed door to turn my music down while he was trying to sleep. It was almost two weeks in when he finally changed his facial expression from the somber one he'd held for so long. I wondered and still wonder what had happened to cause him to be so closed.

Regardless, we'd silently bonded over the next month, leading up to where we are now. We often understood each other with just looks so there was no need for words. This time though, as I surveyed his obviously stressed form, I couldn't figure out what his problem was. I tossed my shoes by the door loudly enough that it caused him to lower his hands and look over at me. He looked like hell.

His eyes were dark as though he hadn't slept a wink the night before. Was I the only one that had slept well? I felt perfectly fine. In fact, I guitily felt better than usual. Sakura's soft skin under my hands first thing in the morning had been the best waking up gift I'd received maybe ever. The skin around my torso tingled where her arm had rested around it. She'd cuddled me all night. The hand that had held hers flinched unconsciously. Neither of us had let go until morning. I knew that things would go back to normal come tomorrow when we'd have to get back to preparing for the debut, but just for today I'd let myself relish each touch she'd granted me. "I slept in your room last night, man."

I was ripped out of my thoughts. I didn't question him because I understood what he was saying. He'd only mentioned that so I could infer that his bed was occupied, by Hinata no less. The fact that he didn't stay in the room with her just made things even more odd. Things were already weird between him and Hinata. He acted coldly towards her most of the time, but even I noticed times when his teasing flirts became a little less tease-y. On top of that, she was incredibly comfortable around him at the club last night. I just nodded and walked into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.

He rose to his feet and silently left the room to do god knows what. I stood at the island and took a sip of black coffee and pulled my phone out. There were about twenty unread messages from Tenten of her freaking out because she couldn't find us last night, but there was one from Sasuke as well. I opened it and saw that it was him warning me that Sakura had been drugged. No shit. _"How could you think I don't want you?"_ My grip tightened on the phone and I quickly went to click through Tenten's messages to distract my mind from last night's memories. _"I want you so bad, Gaara."_

I sat the device down on the counter maybe a little too forcefully and closed my eyes. I knew that this might happen the second I decided I'd take care of her last night. I made my decision and these were the consequences. With a shaky sigh, I downed the rest of my drink before rushing to the bathroom to take a cold shower.

 **-Hinata's POV-**

Tenten finally left after bombarding me with a hard-hitting interrogation. I couldn't tell her, or anyone for that matter, about the very inappropriate dream I'd had because then it would be out there that I thought of Sasuke in a different light. It wasn't like I wanted to marry him or anything. I just found him very enticing now that I knew his personality wasn't really as bad as it seemed. If he were really an asshole, he would've let fate decide what happened to me last night. She'd told me that she'd blown her date with Neji by sneaking off to talk to Ino too much.

He'd already been upset that she had been so late, but then he kept being left alone for long periods of time throughout the night. I could understand where he was coming from. He'd been a gentleman and explained why he was leaving politely, leaving more than enough money to cover the expenses of the date before excusing himself. Tenten had looked very disappointed as she told me. I wasn't mad at her. She'd just gotten over her head about all of us being there.

All she needed was a good chance to apologize and attempt to redeem herself. I knew my cousin better than almost anyone else and he was a pushover for anyone that could be real in front of him. He's surrounded by business-oriented people day in and day out, so when he encounters someone with no hidden agenda other than to do right by him, he doesn't have the heart to stay angry. I explained that to her and promised to help her think of a way to win him back.

She'd hugged me and thanked me maybe a hundred times before leaving. Sakura finally came out of the bathroom the moment Tenten was gone. I could've laughed when she peeked her head out of the hallway, "Is she gone?" I nodded and the girl came out in a pair of jean shorts and a red hoodie with the agency's logo on the front. Before she could even plop down on the couch, there was a frantic knock on the door. We glanced at each other before she rushed over to answer it, "Tenten, I told you-" She cut off. I looked over at her to see what was happening only to see that she'd frozen up in the doorway. I heard her bark, "What do you want?"

I was on my feet and at her side in an instant. Karin stood in front of us with tears in her eyes. There were conflicting emotions wrestling inside me. Part of me was concerned for the redhead since something serious had to have happened for her to show up in tears on our doorstep, but the other part wanted to slam the door in her face for what her and her acquaintances had done to both Sakura and I. Sakura seemed to have more courage than me and repeated herself, more angry this time, "I said what the fuck do you want, Karin?"

The girl took her glasses off and wiped them on her shirt, "I need to talk to both of you." For some unknown reason, we all ended up sitting at the dining table with cups of coffee as if this were a friendly visit. Sakura and I sat waiting for the teary-eyed girl to explain what was going on. She eventually did, staring down into her mug instead of looking either of us in the eye. "I wanted to make sure you were both alright." Instantly, I knew she had something to do with us being drugged last night, but I didn't interrupt. The girl continued, "My parents made me go last night and I was pissed because I didn't want to so I got really drunk and talked about you guys to some guy at the bar before you all arrived." I thought back to seeing her last night. She had had a tint of red to her cheeks, but I hadn't realized she'd been drunk. She finally met our eyes, "He told me later that night that he'd sent you drinks with ecstasy in them and that his friends were going to take care of you for me."

Sakura shot to her feet, "What's wrong with you!" Her face was bright red with anger. I could tell she was doing all she could to not tackle the redhead to the floor and beat her senseless. Karin rose to meet her level, but her stance was more defensive, "I didn't know until after he'd sent the drinks, I promise! I even had Naruto try to get you guys out before anything happened. He told me Gaara had taken you home, Sakura, but I didn't know about Hinata so I had to be sure."

Anger seeped through me and I found myself shooting questions out at her, "Since when do you care about our well-being? Your boyfriend tried to rape me and your family still bailed him out. You used to beat me to a pulp. Are you trying to play a game with us? I want no part of it." Karin's face turned red and she started crying again, her voice raising as she tried to explain herself, "I don't know what my problem is, okay?! Suigetsu's family set up a deal with my parents behind my back and they bailed him out. I don't know the details. I dumped him as soon as I found out, Hinata! I'm...I'm sorry, okay!"

My anger disappeared instantly and I found myself frozen in shock. She was sobbing, but that didn't stop her from pushing on, "I'm sorry I cut your hair and bullied you into switching schools, Sakura, and I'm sorry for everything I've done to you, Hinata. I...I didn't realize how horrible of a person I was until I heard the news about what Suigetsu had done. I want to be better, I do! I know that the first thing I have to do is admit that I've been wrong and apologize." Sakura and I were silent. This was very much not what we expected to happen today.

Karin's crying was all that was heard for a few moments before Sakura sat her hands on the table lightly and sat back down. She spoke with a much calmer voice, "You can't possibly expect us to believe you, much less actually forgive you just because you're crying." The girl's shoulders shook as she continued to do just that. I felt slightly pleased that she had such an ugly crying face. It made her seem less untouchable and more human. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but I will prove to both of you that I'm telling the truth."

Sakura and I glanced at each other. We'd be hypocrites if we didn't at least give her one chance to redeem herself. We'd be exactly the type of girl she had always been. Sakura spoke cautiously, "What did you have in mind?" The sobbing redhead perked up, "Well, the first thing I thought about was setting Hinata and Naruto up on a date." Embarrassed fire flushed through my body. She glanced at me and shrugged, "Sorry, but literally everyone can tell you like him."

I tried not to show that I actually did feel excited at the idea, instead holding my head high and replying coolly, "What about Sakura?" Karin refocused on the pinkette, "Well...I could pay for you to get a makeover? Since I cut your hair and all it seems like the right thing to do." Sakura stiffened at the mention of her hair, "Oh, uh, we're actually already scheduled for makeovers this week for our debut." All thoughts of Naruto were pushed aside for a moment. What? She looked over at me and mouthed an apology. She must've forgotten to mention it.

Karin spoke up again, "Okay so maybe I have no idea what to do." All was silent for a moment before Sakura threw her hands out in disregard, "We have too much else to worry about right now. Schedule this date for tonight and we'll think of something later on." Karin opened her mouth to complain, most likely because it seemed way too soon to put that plan in action, but Sakura held up a finger to silence her, "If you're serious about your apology, you'll make it happen." She was being so harsh, but Karin deserved it. Besides, I was more worried that Naruto would refuse or that this was all just another elaborate setup by Karin.

The girl in question's mouth clamped shut into an annoyed grimace, but she agreed nonetheless. After exchanging numbers with Sakura and me, the redhead vacated our room to try and plan this date she'd promised. Once the door was shut firmly behind her, Sakura and I sat back down at the table for a good old fashioned debrief session about last night. I went first since I didn't have much to say. I couldn't bring myself to tell even Sakura about my fantasy involving Sasuke last night. She'd start shipping us in her head and most likely try to trick us into getting together, "I just remember dancing with you and Ino and then waking up in Sasuke's bed."

Her mouth dropped open as she no doubt assumed what I knew she would. I cut her off before she could conjure the excited squeal that was bound to come, "We didn't do anything, I think...I'm pretty sure." Her smile dropped into a disappointed frown before she shook her head and relayed her part, "Yeah, I remember dancing with you and then all of us sitting back down with the guys and then I woke up in my room. I don't know how I got home." That was odd. "Gaara wasn't in his room when I was leaving their room. Maybe he brought you back?" She quickly shrugged away the suggestion, but didn't offer any other sort of reply. She was obviously uncomfortable with Gaara as the subject, so I hurried to steer it in another direction, "So did the waiter point out who'd sent us the drinks?"

Sakura seemed to be trying to picture it for a moment before releasing a shocked gasp and gripping my hand, green eyes wide with realization, "Yes he did! It was this tan guy with super light blonde hair." Her face fell a bit as she zoned out her gaze on the table in concentration, "I don't remember his face, but I remember that I thought he was hot." That wasn't much to go on. An attractive blonde guy, that's all. Regardless, I excused myself to take a shower. If there was even a slight chance of me going on a date this evening, I wanted to be prepared. To think, I'd actually be going on a date with Naruto! I'd spent all of these years pining after him and now I'd finally have the chance to make him notice me. I remember when we'd first met. It was first or second grade in elementary school and he was the new boy being introduced to the class.

Everyone got to choose their seats even back then so I'd been seated alone in the back because I hadn't any friends. He'd immediately chosen my table when instructed to find a seat. Ever since that day I've admired him, mostly from afar. It had been hard to approach him once we'd all moved up to middle school because he'd started to get popular and his friends would bully me. He'd never witnessed it, I think, but I knew that his popularity might suffer if his friends knew he'd been kind to me so I left him alone.

Sakura opening the door to the bathroom pulled me from my train of thought, "He'll be here at six to pick you up!" There was an excited squeal before she slammed the door closed again. I laughed at her and rested my head against the steamy shower wall. I couldn't get the smile off of my lips. Thank goodness he hadn't refused! My hangover could now do very little to damper my delight. Once I was done showering, I wrapped myself in a big fluffy towel and stepped out of the bathroom with the intent to agonize with Sakura over what to wear to my date.

I glanced at the chipped lavender polish on my toes as I walked. Hopefully mani-pedis would be a part of this makeover we were to receive. A stiffled laugh drew my attention away from my worn nail polish. Gaara, Sasuke, and Sakura were all sitting in front of the television with a variety of expressions as they stared at me. Gaara, being the most respectful of the group, averted his eyes to his lap. Sasuke, having already seen me in a towel once before, did nothing to hide his wondering gaze or flirtatious smirk. Sakura had her eyes squeezed shut with a hand over her mouth as she giggled uncontrollably at my no-doubt aghast face.

Gaara was currently my favorite person in the room. Sakura finally removed her hand after a moment of silence and burst out with laughter. Gaara had a small smile on his face in reaction to her giggles and Sasuke spoke up, "I enjoy our little meetings like this, Hyuga." He waggled his eyebrows and I rolled my eyes before stomping into my room and shutting the door behind me. I'd just have to decide by myself what I'd wear. I pulled open my closet and stared at the variety of clothing that it held, only to fall onto my knees on the floor in defeat almost immediately.

There were dozens of outfits in there, but I still had nothing to wear to this date. Sakura's still humored voice called from the livingroom, "Get dressed! We're going shopping!" Relief overflowed through my veins.

Even if she did get on my nerves sometimes, I still loved her!


	15. Chapter 15

**Kind of a filler chapter here!**

 **I've been busy with work lately and haven't had a chance to write much.**

 **I had this written out a while back so I figured I'd just post this.**

 **I apologize for the wait!**

 **I also have a confession: I have been watching the Netflix series: Black.**

 **It's a kdrama and I HIGHLY recommend it!**

 **Please enjoy this chapter and I intend on updating soon!**

 **Thanks!**

* * *

"Have you eaten here before? What's good to order?"

I looked over the top of the laminated paper in my hands to see Tenten fidgeting around with the wrapper from her straw as she mauled over her choices in food. We were going on our usual once-a-week dinner and tonight we'd stopped in at Yoko's Karaoke Bar.

We'd been seated in the private room furthest from the entrance so as to attract the least amount of attention. We didn't want someone to hear Tenten's voice, recognize it, and cause an uproar. Temari and Kankuro used to bring me here often as a kid.

We didn't have a lot of money, but they still wanted to spoil me here and there so this place was perfect. The food wasn't too costly and I've always loved music so it only made sense. "Chicken tenders are always the safest choice at a new place, " I answered sensibly. She sighed and rolled her eyes, "I'm on a diet, Gaara. That has too many carbs."

It was my turn to sigh, "This isn't the right place to eat if you're on a diet." She gave me a playful glare, but was interrupted by a waitress entering the room nervously. Tenten smiled up at her and motioned for her to approach us more calmly. Once the short blond girl was more near, the pop star smiled up at her, "Are you a fan?" The employee nodded with her hands clasped in front of her body uncomfortably. There was a bright look of disbelief on her features.

Tenten shot out of her seat and pulled out her cellphone, "Here, let's take a picture!" They proceeded to take a few selfies, the waitress just barely managing to smile through her shock. Tenten pulled up her Instagram, "What's your name?"

I tuned out their conversation as a sound pouring into the room from the still-open door drew my attention. It was a female voice. My eyes glazed over onto a photo of nachos as I listened. She wasn't a perfect singer. Her voice wavered with obvious nerves, her breathing was incorrect, and the song she'd chosen didn't match her voice at all, but none of that mattered.

I couldn't see this person, but I was still moved by the sheer joy in her voice. It was obvious that she was enjoying herself. I wasn't familiar with the song she sang, but the girl could've written it just by how comfortable she sounded with the notes. It was an anthem-type song that was meant to inspire or hype up the listeners. Tenten touched my shoulder, glancing down at the picture I was unintentionally staring at, "Do you want to split some nachos?"

I nodded absent-mindedly, trying to tune her out again so I could listen to the music, but sadly the song had ended. I'd missed the finale! The menu was slipped out of my fingers and I studied the nostalgic pattern on the table-cloth. "I wonder who that was singing? She had a pretty voice." I nodded in agreement. It was odd that I'd let myself delve so deeply into someone's singing voice. I felt kind of rude, honestly. I didn't know this person.

Tenten flopped down into her chair, "Don't tell Gai that I'm cheating, okay?" Might Guy was the agency's head health trainer. He was a kind, yet extremely overbearing man who was the very best at what he does. My fingers ran over the polka-dotted design on the table-cloth once more. A flashback of a tipsy Kankuro singing Elvis Presley songs as Temari shouted insults at him from the seats ran through my mind.

A small smile slipped onto my lips just briefly before I shook my head and nodded at Tenten. She didn't even notice since she was flipping through the songbook so she could sing something. I mean, we WERE at a karoake bar. She selected a song by Konan, the agency's first ever solo artist to gain popularity. The brunette had mentioned that she would be covering the song she had chosen on a variety show in the coming weeks so she wanted to practice. After flouncing up onto stage, she winked at me before speaking huskily into the mic, "This one's for all of the broken hearts out there tonight!"

I cringed. She was so loud. It wouldn't surprise me if others had heard her. She began singing and my anxiety slipped away. Tenten truly had a beautiful voice. I'd yet to meet a single person with as much versatility as her, vocally. She belted out the rock-ballad's lengthy notes with expertise. Once she was finished with the song, once again leaving me stunned by her talent, our food arrived.

The sound of a few people singing Happy Birthday drifted into the room as the door opened and closed with the two waitresses coming in. Since it was so loud, one could only assume it came from the room directly next to ours. Tenten eagerly took photos with the two new employees and started chatting light-heartedly with them. It was clear that the staff was trying to let everyone meet her. I put a chip in my mouth just as one of them whispered loudly, "Is that your boyfriend, Tenten?" I choked, immediately causing a coughing fit to try and clear my wind-pipes.

I heard Tenten's reserved giggle. She didn't cackle, like she usually does when she's around her close friends or co-workers, in front of fans because she felt that it would affect her and the agency's image. I thought she should just be herself. Even if she comes off a bit crazy or hyper, she's still a very likable person. "No no no, girls. He's a trainee at the agency. We're having dinner as friends, right Gaara?" I nodded, a fist to my mouth as I let out a final cough. They all three laughed. The same one asked louder, "Can I get his number then?" Annoyance rolled through me, but I just sipped on my drink instead of saying something disrespectful.

If she wanted my number, she should ask me instead, not Tenten. Tenten stood up for me without hurting the girl's feelings, "Nah, he is too busy working. He wouldn't be able to give you the amount of attention you deserve!" She skillfully steered the conversation away from me and finally the two girls left so we could eat. Tenten immediately tossed back a big bite, not commenting on the whole conversation. We ate in silence. Once we were finished, we cleaned up our table as much as we could before leaving a very generous amount of money on the table and gathering our belongings.

As we entered the hall, the same girl's voice was sounding from the next room over. The song she sang this time was one of Tenten's and it fit her voice much better. Tenten snickered, "Ooh, it's that girl again. Let's sneak a peek!" She tiptoed dramatically towards the door to the room. I reached to stop her, but it was no use. The door opened just as she'd reached for it and a thin pink-haired woman stepped out. She gasped in surprise, but quieted down when Tenten put a finger in front of her mouth to signal her to be quiet. The woman nodded and closed the door behind her. Tenten smiled, "Hi! I was wondering who was singing in there?"

The woman looked surprised, pushing a strand of her bangs behind her ear, "Oh! That'd be my daughter. It's her birthday today." A look of realization dawned her face, "Oh my! Could you go meet her? She loves you and it'd be the perfect gift!" Tenten smiled and shook her hand, "Of course! Let's let her finish her song first." The woman nodded and reopened the door, holding it open so we could enter the small room. There were two males sitting at a table, one an adult and one a teenager, and then a pink-haired girl on stage singing with her eyes closed. Other than the cake sitting on the table, there were no other signs that this was a birthday party. Didn't she have any friends or anything? I finally looked up to study the girl and was taken aback by just how beautiful she was.

Her shoulder length hair was the color of cherry blossoms and framed her face in the most perfect of ways. Tan skin set off the paleness of her lips and hair, making her seem like an angel or doll. She finally opened her eyes and I had to touch the wall behind me to make sure I wasn't dreaming up someone as perfect as her. Brilliant green eyes gazed out just above our heads and you could see the dream there. She wasn't here in this room with us. She was on stage in an arena, surrounded by adoring fans. Her voice was even more appealing close up. Despite her obvious lack of training, her pitch was perfect and her vocal lines were interesting.

She'd even dared to ad lib here and there, which was bold. I stood there mesmerized by her beauty for every second left of the song. Where had she been all of my life? She's the one! I shook my head as the song ended. Why was I thinking such crazy thoughts? I didn't even know this person! Tenten clapped loudly to my left, drawing everyone's attention to herself. The dimmed lights brightened up as the girl's mother flipped the switch. The pink-haired angel's eyes shot to Tenten and her face turned bright red, "Oh my god!"

She quickly replaced the mic on the stand and rushed down to greet us. Up close she was even more gorgeous. Her eyes were so deep and emotional that I found myself lost in them from the moment she approached. Tenten quickly pulled the girl into a hug, "Happy Birthday! You sang so beatifully!" My cellphone began ringing, and the two looked over at me. When her eyes met mine, I felt electricity shoot through my veins and I rushed out of the room. I had to create space between us or I'd surely do something stupid. I clutched my heart as I shut the door behind me, leaning against the wall trying to catch my breath. Who was she?

I at least had to get to know her. I answered the ringing phone before it had a chance to go to voicemail. The screen said it was Temari, "Hello?" My sister's voice was frantic, "Gaara, thank god you answered! Kankuro's headed to the hospital. He got into a car wreck and..." She trailed off. I could hear in her voice that she was crying. I quickly got info on which hospital he was at before texting Tenten about what was going on and heading out.

Later that evening, I stepped out of the taxi and paid the driver. Kankuro had just a few scratches on his face and body and a broken arm. Relief had nearly knocked me out when I'd arrived to see him awake and not in critical condition. Damn that Temari for making everything seem so much worse over the phone. As I walked through the lobby, I nodded a greeting at those who I passed by before climbing into the elevator.

Just as the doors were about to shut behind me, a small hand stopped them and they reopened. I glanced over to see who it was just to actually flinch in shock. The pink-haired girl from the karaoke place! The girl stepped into the elevator and did a double-take, similar to how I had done, "Oh hey! You're that guy from the bar! I'm going to be a trainee here, now. Nice to meet you!" I swallowed my nervousness and took a deep breath. What had Tenten done after I left? Regardless, I was ecstatic that I'd be seeing more of this girl. After offering my hand, I spoke as calmly as possible, "Gaara." She slid her soft hand into mine and squeezed it lightly, "Sakura."

Good lord. She's perfect.


	16. Chapter 16

**SURPRISE!**

 **THE UPDATE CAME QUICKER THAN I'D THOUGHT!**

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No sooner had I gotten dressed in a pair of leggings and a blue blouse, styled my hair, and gathered my shoes and purse did we all head out for our mall trip. I'm one hundred percent sure Sakura was just waiting for an excuse to go shopping. Her very being was perkier than usual as we climbed out of the cab in front of the tall building. She had her arm looped in mine as she skitted with a fast pace towards the entrance.

I glanced back to see Sasuke and Gaara share a look of dread. This all almost felt normal. I smiled to myself as I allowed Sakura to pull me into the store directly past the entrace. We were supposed to be shopping for my date clothes and this was a candle and perfume store, but I didn't argue with her when she started testing out a few perfumes on the little test strips. "Ooooh this one is lovely! Smell it, Hinata! Isn't it nice? Oh, you don't like it? Damn." My nose hairs felt like they were burning after just giving the first two a polite sniff to appease Sakura's excitement.

Sasuke and Gaara followed us around the store like lost yet quiet puppies, obviously not too keen on the whole mall experience. As Sakura was taking a few candles up to the register to purchase, I turned to the two guys and wondered aloud, "Why did you guys agree to come?" It was obvious they would prefer to be almost anywhere else. The two looked at each-other before Gaara sighed and admitted defeat, "She promised to buy us the new Soul Caliber game if we came." I glanced over at Sasuke to see him glaring at a random rack of perfumes, obviously ashamed of his weakness.

A snicker slipped past my lips in disbelief and I quickly put a hand over my mouth to try and stifle it. These two, pretty much grown men, were bribed by the little pink-haired Sakura Haruno. I glanced over to see her thanking the cashier before turning towards us. She was more crafty than I'd given her credit for. I didn't say anything to the boys, but looped my arm into Sakura's as she approached us and smiled wide, "Where to next?"

This is payback for making fun of me in a towel, you two! I glanced back at the boys and saw looks of dread clearly on their faces. We visited every single store on the bottom floor of the mall, which was almost a dozen, before Gaara's stomach roared loudly enough that even Sakura had noticed it. "Let's go eat!" We sat down at an empty table in the food court, Sakura struggling to fit all of her shopping bags in the two empty seats at the six seater. After a moment of fighting, she sighed and just told me to grab her some pizza.

I laughed to myself before heading over to the pizza place a bit away from where we'd sat. As I stood in line, I thought about the date I was preparing for. Where would he be taking me? Was he just doing this as a favor to Karin or was he honestly interested in me? A shiver ran through my bones. What if he's in on whatever game Karin is trying to play?! I shook my head and took a step forward as the line moved up. Naruto would never do something like that.

The memories I had of him were all positive. He was truly one of the kindest people I'd ever met. Someone clearing their throat behind me pulled me out of my thoughts. I glanced back to see Sasuke standing behind me with a serious look on his gorgeous features. I greeted him with a smile, only for it to be wiped clean off when he spoke with a sternness, "Are you an idiot?" Confusion rolled over my features. "You can't honestly believe that this date isn't a set up."

Sakura must've filled them in while I showered. There was the annoyance that usually arose when Sasuke spoke to me. I gave him a glare, "Naruto is a good person." He scoffed and nudged me in the back with his hand. It was my turn to order. I shook my head to myself before giving the cashier mine and Sakura's orders. I felt extremely awkward standing there with a judgmental Sasuke behind me and a cashier clueless as to what the hell the people in front of him's problem was. The boy behind the counter gave me an inquisitive look before glancing at the taller man behind me and back to me. I shook my head and gave him a smile. He seemed like a nice guy. After paying and accepting my tray of food. I headed back to the table stiffly.

I could feel someone staring at me, but I didn't know who it was and didn't want to make the mistake of checking. Finally, I sat down next to Sakura and pushed the tray towards her so she could take what she wanted of the food on it. Gaara, who was apparently trying to stick to his diet, had purchased a smoothie and nothing else. He glanced down at Sakura's pizza and spoke in a soft voice, "You like pineapple on your pizza?" Sakura gave him a warning glare as she chewed. He put his hands up in defense, "No! I like it, too." The girl swallowed her pizza and gave him a smile, shoving the slice of pizza toward his face, "Here. Have some then." The boy shook his head and put the straw of his drink into him mouth, speaking around it, "I can't. Thank you, though."

I slowly munched on my own supreme pizza, kind of dazing off in the distance as I listened to them talk. Sakura pouted, "I don't feel right eating in front of you if you aren't going to join us." Gaara shook his head before taking the slice from her hand and taking a large bite. Sakura giggled and accepted her slice back. Sasuke slid into his seat with a glare still set onto his features. I averted my gaze to the table and continued eating. Sakura spoke to me then, "Hinata, you haven't bought a single thing yet! This whole trip is for you. Do you need help picking something out?"

I looked over at her with a knowing look, "Yeah, probably. I've never been on a date before." Sakura slammed her hands down on the table, "What!" Sasuke let out another scoff, but didn't say anything. She gave him a stern look before putting her hands up defensively, "Don't you worry, Hina. I'm going to make sure you look amazing!" Anxiety rushed through my veins. The wild look in her eye had me worried. Once we were finished eating, we cleaned up the table we were at and headed up the escalator to the second floor of the mall.

This was the floor with more clothing stores than anything else. Sakura lead me into a store that she said was her mother's favorite so I'd like it, which made me feel like a prude. The boys had both snickered behind us at that. I had to admit upon entering, though, that she was right. The clothing they carried was on par with what I considered to be my style. Even if a lot of the clothes were cute, I was still clueless on what to pick out for a date. Sakura waved off a busty blonde sales assistant, who'd perked up upon seeing Sasuke and Gaara and had started to flounce her way toward us. She gave a scowl before returning to her post behind one of the cash registers and settling on checking them out from a distance. I was shoved into a dressing room and told to wait.

The area where the dressing rooms were was a round room with four different sections to try on clothes with an intricate fountain in the middle with a marble bench surrounding it. I played some Bubble Pop on my phone while I waited for Sakura to arrive with clothes for me to try on. I was pulled from my game by Sasuke's gruff voice from the other side of the door, "So tell me, which one of us are you expecting to save you when this date goes wrong?" I locked my phone and let my arms fall to my sides with a glare at the white wooden door, "Go away, Sasuke."

Why did he insist on trying to ruin the good mood I was in? There was a pause before he replied. His voice was angrier than I'd heard it before, "Don't come to me when this blows up in your face. I tried to warn you." I honestly felt hurt by his words. Why was he being so mean to me? Especially after we had just started getting along better. I didn't have it in me to find the words to reply so I simply ignored him and tried to focus on Naruto. With all the drama that had been going on the past week, I hadn't had much of a chance to think about him. He'd looked so handsome at the club.

He'd worn a white shirt with the top few buttons undone that made him look so sexy. Heat rushed to my cheeks, but I was interrupted by a few outfits falling from over the top of the door, "Here! Try these on!" There were a few items that I immediately refused to try on. She must've thrown them in there as a joke. I gingerly eyed the bodycon black dress as I pulled on a much more elegant dark blue babydoll dress with white flowers decorating the lower half of the skirt, three quarter sleeves, and pockets. I liked this dress a lot and it was only the first one. I stepped out of the dressing room only to come face to face with Sakura. I yelped in surprise, but she only smiled wide, "I knew that'd be the one you'd try on first." Almost embarrassed, I held my arms out from my body, "Do you like it?"

Sakura clapped her hands together and laughed, "Of course I do! I picked it out! What about you guys?" She stepped back so Gaara and Sasuke could see. Both boys looked lost, but Gaara nodded with a small blush. I gave him a grateful smile. Sasuke rolled his eyes before bustling off to flirt with the cashier, who looked overjoyed to see him coming towards her. Sakura shot the dark-haired man a glare before turning back to me and shaking her head with a tight-lipped smile, "I'll kill him, don't worry. You look great. So should we head off to find you some matching shoes?"

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By the time we'd finished shopping and gotten back to the agency to get me ready for the date, it was already five in the evening. Sakura had pretty much thrown me into a chair so she could do my hair and make up for me. Once she was finished, I changed into my new outfit. I'd gotten a pretty pair of white flats and a cross body purse to go with my dress.

Just as she was finished applying a final spritz of makeup-setting spray, there was a knock at the door. She ushered me out of the bathroom, past Gaara and Sasuke, and to the front door. I glanced back at the three of them nervously. Gaara gave me a curt nod, Sakura gave me an excited smile, and Sasuke refused to even look in my direction. Though it hurt, I chose to ignore his anger and pulled the door open to reveal a red-faced Naruto Uzumaki. He gave me a bright smile, "Hey, Hinata! Ready?" I nodded and followed him out of the room and towards the elevator. He was wearing an expensive looking pair of jeans with a black button-up shirt. He turned to glance at me and my face burnt at being caught checking him out. He gave a small laugh before pushing the floor button on the elevator, "So, how've you been, Hinata? I haven't heard from you in a while."

His voice had changed a lot since elementary school. It was deeper and more mature, as was the way he spoke in general. He didn't seem so hyper-active, not that I would've minded either way. "Y-Yes, it has been a while. I'm doing better n-now that we're out of s-s-school. How about you?" I was so nervous! He kept his bright smile on as we arrived on the bottom floor and headed out of the building and into the car he had waiting for us, "I'm doing alright, yeah! I've been doing some producing with my god father, Jiraiya, here lately and I'm hoping to receive an official job offer from Kakashi soon."

My heart dropped. Jiraiya was his god parent? That would explain why Sakura had taken a photo with him in the building. It was astounding how different the Uzumaki relatives were. Karin was blatantly untalented in the arts and ill-mannered towards her peers where Naruto apparently showed promise (he wouldn't be expecting a job offer if not) and was anything but rude to anyone around him. I thanked him as he held the door open for me, easily sliding into the passenger side of his sleek looking car. I couldn't tell what kind it was, since I was terrible at those kinds of things, but it seemed luxurious. It had two doors and was black with an orange stripe running over the hood and roof.

He made his way around the vehicle and climbed into the driver seat, "Are you okay with going out to eat?" I gave him a nod. Thank god I'd eaten pizza earlier! How embarrassing would it be if I'd gone out to eat with him on an empty stomach. I wouldn't want to seem like a pig and eat too much. He started driving in silence. I couldn't tell if he felt awkward or not. I guiltily snook a few glances at his profile while he focused on the road. His smile was gone for he wasn't addressing me and he seemed to be thinking deeply about something. Just as I was about to look away, he turned to catch me looking and grinned, "Want to listen to some music?"

I gulped, unable to form any words, and nodded. He reached down and clicked on the radio. _"So tell us, Tenten. Is there anything you can tell us about Prestige, who are set to debut this Saturday on LMC?"_ Naruto looked at me with a smile, "That's you guys, right?" I returned his smile and nodded before listening to Tenten's reply. _"Yes, Nigel, they ARE set to debut this weekend. I'll give you just one major hint. Are you ready?"_ There was a pause before she continued. _"This four member group is co-ed!"_

This Nigel person quickly responded, _"Co-ed?! Wonderful! ...The director is telling me that our lines are already blowing up with questions in response to this exciting news! Is there anything else you have to say about the group?" "Yes, sir! This group was assembled by me personally and each member has been mentored by me at some point. I can honestly say that I think everyone will love them. Each member is extremely talented in their own ways."_

A smile graced my lips at her kind words. It was clear that she cared about us. We soon arrived at a small ramen shop. At first I was confused due to the unexpected casual setting, but was actually relieved that Naruto wasn't over doing it. He parked the vehicle and quickly ran around the car to open my door for me like a gentleman. I climbed out nervously before following him into the small building. We sat in a slightly worn booth and waited for a waiter to come over. The place had mainly red leather booths and matching stools at the counter for seating. It all seemed very small-town and old fashioned. I didn't mind it at all.

The place had character. Naruto cleared his throat and I tore my gaze from the checkered floor and up to his handsome face. I was ecstatic. Finally, after years and years of admiring Naruto, I had a chance to make him see me in a romantic light. I couldn't wipe the smile off of my lips. He spoke quietly so other booths wouldn't hear our conversation, "You've changed a lot since grade school, Hina." A slight blush rose to my face. He was noticing me! He even gave me a nickname! I fiddled with my fingers under the table, unable to control the nervous gesture, "Y-You have too, N-Naruto."

His face lit up and he rubbed the back of his head, "You think so? Sakura says I'm still just a big teddy bear." I blinked. He was talking about Sakura? With a mental shake of my head, I blew off the comment and replied, "W-Well you're much taller and your voice is d-d-deeper." He gave a small chuckle, like music to my ears, "If you say so, Hina." A gangly teenager came up to take our order. Naruto ordered two bowls of miso ramen and I ordered just one. After he left to place the order, we continued our conversation. "You know, I didn't see much of you in high school. Did you join any clubs?"

Anxiety was starting to creep it's head into my nerves. I wasn't really comfortable talking about my high school days since they were filled with negativity that I didn't want him to know about. "T-That's...No, not really. I mainly spent time in the m-music rooms." He perked up, "Oh yeah! That'd make sense, being that you're about to become all big and famous, right?" I smiled at him shyly. He put a finger to his mouth in thought, "Your voice is so soft, though. Will they have to turn your microphone's up louder?" The question seemed retorical so I didn't reply, just looked back and forth between my lap and his comical thinking face.

The food suddenly arrived, saving me from awkwardly trying to restart the conversation. Naruto dug in instantly, mumbling here and there between bites about how this was his favorite restaurant and how good the food was. I nodded each time he spoke, eating my ramen much slower than he did. He finished both of his bowls before I could finish my one and he watched me with a small smile on his face while I tried to avoid his gaze nervously. "Hina, you got very pretty. I never noticed." I froze with a fork-full of noodles in my mouth and met his gaze in surprise. He thought I was pretty? It were as though things were all falling into place for me. He snickered and I quickly pulled the fork away, chewing my noodles slowly so as not to choke and make a fool of myself.

After swallowing I tried to smile normally, "Thank you, Naruto. You've a-always been very handsome." Did I really say it? A small beam of pride shot through my chest. I was getting more and more brave! He looked shocked at my statement and went back to rubbing the back of his head with a wide smile, "Hey, thanks!" After I finished eating, Naruto paid for the food and we were heading back out to his car. We'd spent nearly two hours in the restaurant talking about our music and things we'd endured during school. I didn't mention the bullying, but told him about my teachers and classes. I wanted this relationship to be free of all things Karin and bringing her up would only be counter-productive. He held the passenger door open for me and I slid in with more ease than before.

My nerves were much more relaxed after spending some time with the blonde man. He shut the door beside me and walked calmly around the car to climb into the driver's side. We were soon driving silently on the nearly-empty backroads to the agency. Some soft music played from the speakers and a dark blue light dimly cast shadows over both of us from the radio and dash. I glanced over at him just to take in the view.

He looked so much older when he wasn't smiling. The serious look on his face as he focused on the road had a familiar tingling forming near my lower abdomen. Would he kiss me back if I went for it? One of my hands touched the bottom half of my stomach absentmindedly, heat pooling under it. He glanced over at me and gave an uncharacteristic smirk, suddenly shoving images of Sasuke's face into my brain. My smile vanished and confusion rocked my brain. Why was I thinking of him when I had Naruto right here in front of me? I shook my head before shooting him a reassuring smile. He refocused on the road. I felt a surge of courage rush through me as I glanced around at the trees on either side of the road.

A gravel shoulder was coming up and I spoke up louder than I had spoken all night, "Pull over up here, please." He glanced at me in confusion, "Are you okay?" He pulled over and put the car in park, concern etched onto his endless blue eyes. I unclicked my seatbelt and he spoke again, "What's wrong, Hi-!" In a swift motion, I had pulled him closer with one hand and held his face gently still with the other, pressing my lips against his passionately. I put every ounce of the emotions I'd felt for him through the years into that kiss. It took him a moment, but I soon felt one of his hands reach up to wrap itself in my hair and his lips moved against mine cautiously. He seemed to be in shock at my bold actions. He kissed me as though he were afraid I would break.

After a few moments, we both pulled away and I sat back in my seat with heat flushing to my face and lower regions. He was very gentle. I couldn't tell if I liked that or not, but that question was over-ridden by how excited I was that I'd finally kissed him. After years of dreaming of the act, it'd finally happened. I glanced over at him and my happiness slightly faltered. His face wasn't exactly what I'd pictured. He seemed to be having an internal battle. I spoke slowly, "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to f-force myself onto y-!" His hands were on either side of my face and his lips were suddenly pressed softly against mine.

To my delight, he didn't pull away, but slowly started a delicate dance between our lips. His calloused hands didn't move from my face, but I bravely let mine roam slowly from his face to his body. I couldn't help but feel that we were on different levels when it came to what our intentions were. I felt passion and wanted him to touch me more, but he seemed to just want to kiss. There was no way I'd complain, though! He was a pretty good kisser and I'd wanted this for years. I'd take what I could get. We sat parked there for what felt like hours before we finally parted and got back on the road. It was nearly ten in the evening when we finally pulled up to the now-dark agency.

Naruto parked the car, but made no move to get out. He seemed to want to say something. He had turned to face me with his mouth slightly open, but froze and his gaze dazed over. "What is it, N-Naruto?" He refocused his vision and smiled awkwardly, "Nothing, nevermind." Something was clearly on his mind. "Are you sure...?" His smile faded and he slapped his hands defeatedly on the steering wheel with a sigh, "I'm really sorry, Hinata." My blood froze. He was apologizing? For what? This didn't sound good so I just kept my mouth shut and gave him a concerned look so he'd continue.

He ran a hand through his hair stressfully, taking a deep breath, "I'm such an asshole, Hinata, really." He glanced at me before blurting out, "The only reason I agreed to this date was to try and convince you to help set me up with Sakura." The world seemed to stand still as I slowly wrapped my mind around his confession. He rested his head against the steering wheel in shame for a moment. I sat straight back and my eyes glazed over in the distance.

He didn't actually like me? He liked...Sakura? I saw him turn to face me and looked at him in confusion, "But why did you...?" He threw his hands up in the air angrily, more at himself than anything, "I don't know! I hadn't planned on kissing you! I'm sorry, Hinata. I'm really interested in Sakura." I should be angry. Hell, I should be seething, but I wasn't. I felt broken. That was the first kiss I'd willingly given away and it was to someone who didn't even want it.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and quickly opened the door so I could get out. He seemed frantic, "Wait! Hinata, I'm sorry! I really am! I don't know why I acted that way!" I nodded absently and climbed out. He grabbed my arm from his seat and I glanced down at him in disbelief. He paused nervously, "Can you..um..not mention this to Sakura? I don't want to ruin my chances."

Tears welled up in my eyes and I yanked my arm out of his grip. I couldn't bring myself to say anything to him. Tears of betrayal were starting water up, so I quickly shut the door behind me and rushed up the walkway and into the building without glancing back. He didn't come after me. The tears boiled over as soon as the elevator doors shut behind me and I felt like my insides were falling apart. I'd always believed Naruto was an amazing and perfect person. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined him doing something like this to me, or anyone for that matter.

Sure, I had pictured many scenarios where he'd reject me, but it was always respectfully and with manners. Regardless of that, the worst part was that I was stupid enough to believe that he actually liked me. I thought I really had a chance. Self-loathing heat crept up onto my cheeks as hot tears rolled down. I fumbled with the keys, unable to see clearly at this point with the sheer amount of tears coming through. The metal item fell through my fingers and to the ground soliciting a loud sigh and hateful , "I'm so fucking stupid!" from my lips. My heart was on fire. My chest ached.

As I bent down to find the keys, my legs shakily gave out and I fell onto them, one hand holding me up and the other clutching at my heart. So this is what heartbreak felt like. The only sound in the hall was my loud sniffling, but the pressure in my head produced a ringing that made it hard to see or hear anything else.

 **-Sasuke's POV-**

I was not staying up late just to make sure Hinata got home safe. No. I was staying up late because I needed to catch up on some reading. There wasn't an ounce of my being that was worried about her. Gaara hadn't said anything to me, but had given me a knowing look before heading off to bed. I shot a glare at the closed door to his room. That redhead was way too good at reading people. The ding of the elevator drew me out of my gaze.

I'd been reading the same page for ten minutes now. Someone was coming up. I listened and sure enough heard the familiar jingle of keys close by. It had to be Sakura or Hinata. Sakura, Ino, and Tenten had stopped by to invite us to go to the movies, but they were going to see that 50 Shades of Grey thing so we had refused. There was a thump outside followed by someone talking to themselves. I couldn't hear what she said, but I could tell it was Hinata's voice.

Was she drunk? Why was she being so noisy? Wait, he didn't get her drunk on their first date, did he?

I shook my head as I got to my feet. I'm simply a worried group member wanting to ensure his team is safe. She was an idiot if she let him get her drunk. As I opened the door, I'd intended to chastise her for being an idiot, but when I saw her shaking form on the ground, all annoyance vacated my body. She was pretty much sobbing and physically trying to hold her body together. A dark thought crossed my mind.

He hadn't hurt her, had he? Anger seethed through my veins and I rushed to pull her up from the ground. I grabbed her dropped keys as we stood up. She didn't have any marks on her, but her lips looked swollen as though she'd been kissing someone. My anger only flared up. I did my best to hide my anger and make it a priority to ensure she was okay, "Hinata?" She took a moment to realize that it was me and the distraught look on her face transitioned into one of absolute rage. This was a look I'd yet to see on her soft features and the picture was unsettling.

She seemed completely broken and I knew that whatever happened was causing her to lash out as a way to protect herself unconsciously, but I couldn't help but feel angry when she started shouting at me. "Get off of me, Sasuke. Go away! You were right, okay?!" My emotions were switching from one extreme to the other, back and forth between worry and anger. I was right about the date going wrong? What had happened? I opened my mouth to ask her just that, but she cut me off and shoved me away.

She actually put pressure behind the push, but it still did little to move me, "I'm not enough for him, for you, for anyone and I don't need you to come out here and rub it in my face that you were right! Go away!" I heard Gaara come out of our room. Her yelling must've woken him up. His footsteps approached until he was right next to me. I was too focused on the angsty look on Hinata's red face to look at him, but I could hear the worry in his voice, "What's going on? What happened, Hinata?"

She turned her glare from my face down to his only for it to disappear and be replaced by an absolutely broken expression. There was a slight pain in my chest, but I ignored it. She choked out, "Please, just leave me alone." Then she was in her room and both of us listened to her click the lock. Gaara looked up at me with wide eyes, "What happened? Did he..?" Anger rolled over me. I warned her. I fucking told her this date was a bad idea! I turned on my heel and returned to our loft so I could retreat into my room for the night. Why was she so stupid?

It was obvious from the start that all of it was a setup! Gaara knocked on my door. Not knowing what was going on had him acting strangely and I commended him in the back of my mind for being able to act on that worry instead of struggling to express himself. "What's going on, Sasuke?" I was annoyed as hell, "I don't know! Fuck off!" He did just that. A very small part of me felt bad for barking at him like that, but a larger part of me was still pissed off that Hinata hadn't listened to me. What had happened on the date, though?

 **-Sakura's POV-**

It was just after eleven when Tenten and I finally got back to the agency. Kakashi would probably kill her if he found out that she had kept me out this late! After saying our good-nights at Tenten's door, I headed over to my own and unlocked it. There were no lights on so I just shut the door and locked it behind me. A movement in my peripheal caught my attention and I nearly screamed. Hinata was sitting at the dining table with her face in her hands. "Hinata! You scared me! It's late, you should get to bed. Tell me all about the date in the mor-"

My voice trailed off as she moved her hands to look at me. Her makeup was smeared down her cheeks and there was a look of utter defeat on her features. I flipped on the lights to the kitchen and gasped at how terrible she looked. Anger rushed through my veins, "What the fuck happened?" I walked around the table to sit next to her, pulling her hands away from her face and looking over her for any marks. She started sobbing and uncharacteristically rested her head on my chest.

I slowly put a hand on her back and patted her a few times. Something was really wrong. Did Naruto really try something with her? I'd had a different impression of him which is why I'd agreed to send her on this date to begin with. She spoke through her sobs, suddenly, "N-N-Naruto kissed me!" A small wave of relief came over me and I smiled, hugging her to me with a giggle, "So these are happy tears, then?"

Her sobs got louder and my worry regrew, "H-H-He kissed me and then asked me t-t-to set him up with y-you!" My vision slowly turned red as I processed her words. "He WHAT?" She pulled away and shook her head, her chin quivering as she cried. I couldn't imagine what she must be feeling. The girl had had a crush on him for the better part of a decade and he actually took her on a date and kissed her only to turn around and ask her to tell her friend about him. I shot to my feet, ready to kill. The chair I was sitting in fell to the ground, "I'm going to fucking destroy him!"

She rose to her feet as well, grabbing my arm desperately, "No! Don't do anything! Let's just...Let's just go to bed, Sakura." I looked at her in disbelief, "Are you kidding me? He can't just get away with this, Hinata." She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, "No. If we go after him then the cycle won't ever end. We'll hurt him, the Uzumaki's will do something bad in return, then we'll react to that and it will never end! I can't do this anymore." Her voice cracked, but she repeated, "Please, let's just go to bed."

My vision slowly returned to normal as I thought about what she said. She had a point, but I wasn't satisfied with that. She was trying to be the bigger person. While there was no way in hell Naruto was going to get away with this, taking one look at Hinata's exhausted face convinced me to agree to her request at least for now. If that's what it took to help her cope, then that's what I'd do.


	17. Chapter 17

**It's been a while since I've updated and I know I said that I'd be updating more, but honestly life has just been very hectic lately.**

 **I'm working a lot more than usual and not home as much so I can't and shouldn't promise that updates will come on a set schedule.**

 **However, I can promise that I will update as often as possible!**

 **Please enjoy this chapter and thank you so much to my loyal readers!**

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My whole face felt stiff, dry, and heavy in the morning. A groan left my lips as I rolled over to turn off my alarm. There was a dull numbness where the ache had been last night. I felt emotionless. Perhaps this was my body's natural way of trying to protect me from the harsh reactions to Naruto's betrayal of my trust. With a sigh, I sat up and rubbed my sore eyes. I hadn't slept well at all. At some point in the middle of the night, the true weight of my actions towards Sasuke hit me and that only added to the negative string of thoughts that circled my mind like a mantra.

 _All you do is cause trouble. You were lucky to have him as a friend and you had to go and ruin it, typical. Everyone hates you now._

It took all of what little energy I had to shove the thoughts into a closet in the back of my mind so I could focus on getting ready for the day. I'd have to find a way to apologize to Sasuke. Something had me feeling like he wouldn't just take a vocal declaration. There was a soft knock at my door and I glanced over to see Sakura peek her head in. She spoke softly, like a mother tending to her sick child, "Hey, how'd you sleep?"

I felt the familiar burn of tears threatening to develop at just the sight of her, but blinked them back. I croaked out some noise that reflected my current state of being and was surprised by how hoarse my voice sounded and how much it stung to speak. I was hyper awake then. Her eyes widened and she entered the room the rest of the way, "Oh no! Does it hurt?" My hands both came up to touch my neck and I nodded, fearing that trying to speak would only do more damage.

This is terrible! Our LIVE debut is in less than a week and I've lost my voice! She cupped my face with her hands for a moment with a panicked look on her face before she perked up and put a finger up as if a light bulb had went off above her head, "I'll make you some hot tea! Get dressed!" She hurried out of the room and I swallowed, wincing at the ache that followed. All of that sobbing and yelling at Sasuke had to have caused this.

The list of things to stress about was getting longer and longer. We have a blonde man who drugged us to keep an eye out for, I'd yelled at Sasuke, we had to somehow deal with Karin, Naruto officially rejected me after being my first kiss, AND now I've lost my voice! I forced my body to go into auto-pilot and climbed out of bed. My head was aching. I padded barefoot into the bathroom and showered before getting dressed and meeting with Sakura in the kitchen to drink some hot tea for breakfast. She had a to-go bottle ready for me and we headed out the door. I sipped the drink and let the warmness seep through my numb body. It was still too early for the hallway lights to be on, so we made our way to the elevator in the dark silence. "Keep drinking that, Hinata."

I glanced over to see Sakura staring at me worriedly and nodded back at her, doing as she instructed and continued sipping on my tea before it could lose it's warmth. When we finally arrived in the music room, we found only the boys with Tenten and no Jiraiya. I stayed behind Sakura a few steps as we entered. With a sneak peek at Sasuke, I acknowledged that he was, indeed, angry. His jaw was set in a firm line and his eyes were blank and hard. The three were sitting on the floor in a half-circle, and Tenten silently motioned for us to sit in front of them to complete it.

Once we were seated, Tenten directed her attention to me, "Hinata, first things first: How was the date?!" I thought she was being unusually quiet. There was the Tenten we all knew and loved. Despite my sentimental thoughts, I was more embarrassed by the idea of explaining what happened once again. There's no way I'd be able to maintain my composure. I glanced at Sakura and pointed to my neck. She nodded and leaned forward to pull the attention towards herself, "Hinata lost her voice." The other three looked absolutely shocked and I hang my head in shame. "No! That's terrible! The debut is coming..." Tenten glanced at me before forcing herself to perk up, "Well, it's you're lucky that we aren't singing today. We're going over some public relations stuff so just rest up, okay?"

I nodded and kept sipping my drink. Gaara kept staring at me with a concerned look, so I nudged Sakura to continue. She did so, yet less confidently as before, "About the date...Naruto kissed Hinata and then asked her to try and set him up with...one of her friends." I looked at her in confusion since she didn't tell them he'd asked about her. She gave me a look that she'd explain later and I turned my attention to the rest of the group. Tenten's face was red with anger, "Are you fucking joking? I'll kill that motherfucker!"

She pulled out her phone and seemed to be searching for someone's number before Sakura put her hand on her wrist, "Hinata doesn't want anyone to retaliate. She said that it will just cause more drama and she doesn't want that." Tenten looked at me with disbelief, "Hinata, you need to respect yourself more. You don't deserve to be treated that way." She sounded quite the opposite of Sakura's mother impression. Her way of speaking was more like a father telling his son to man up and do what needs to be done. In reality, she was just displaying her concern openly and I respected that. I shook my head with a grimace. Gaara spoke up in his usual softer voice, "If you need anything, we're all here for you."

I looked at his serious green eyes and felt tears start to form again. I nodded with the closest thing to a smile I could manage. Tenten interrupted again, "That boy is an idiot! He is trying to get a job here and then pulls something like that? Jiraiya is going to be so upset when he finds out." She seemed to be talking to herself, but Sakura agreed aloud, mumbling under her breath some insults directed towards the blonde in question while nodding her head. Sasuke cleared his throat to attract our attention before speaking in a cold voice, "We should refocus."

We all glanced warily at him before Tenten nodded with a confused look hinting in her eyes, "Um...yeah, we should!" She clapped her hands together and smiled encouragingly before going off on a long speech about how we should appear to the public, "You will all behave like the mature young adults that you are in public, while also coming off as though you have extremely strong bonds with each other." She glanced at Sasuke, "Even if you have to fake it, we're not asking you to hug and hold hands, but at least make it obvious that you have respect for each other. Keep the agency's ideals in mind when answering interview questions. Evolution is one of the less strict agencies when it comes to idol freedoms, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want and get away with it. If any of you becomes a public relations menace, there will be severe consequences."

She kept rambling on and on about how to dodge inappropriate topics from fans or show hosts, how to avoid looking like dating rumors so our fans see us as available, and finally we came to the roles of our group. By the time this topic had come up, Sasuke was laying on his back with his arms out wide on the floor while Sakura took notes, Gaara listened intently, and I did my best to appear alert even if I was fighting sleep. We all perked up simultaneously when Tenten barked out Sakura's name. Sasuke shot up and looked around as though he'd expected a fight to happen. Tenten put a hand firmly on Sakura's crossed leg and looked her deep in the eyes, "We at Evolution feel that you would be the ideal leader of Prestige. Do you accept this role?"

It was odd how formally she spoke, but it WAS a big deal to be the leader. Sakura's face turned bright red and tears started forming in her eyes. She spoke in a shocked and soft voice, "R-Really?! Of course I do! Thank you, Tenten!" She threw her arms around the popstar's shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Tenten's professional facade briefly broke and a large smile graced her plump lips. She quickly pulled away and gave a mock serious expression before nodding and continuing her role announcement, "Gaara you and Sakura will cover any and all rapping, provide vocals from time to time, and be the main dancers of the group. Gaara, you're also the youngest of the group so you will unfortunately be styled a bit more youthfully than the others. Hinata!" I straightened my posture and stared anxiously at Tenten's chocolate eyes. She smiled, "You're the main female vocalist and the visual of the group. This means that you of all people need to appear the most composed when out and about."

My face felt hot. The visuals of groups are normally the most beautiful of the group. I glanced at Sakura's exotically beautiful features and felt unsure of the agency's choice, but kept my mouth shut and nodded in understanding of my roles. "Sasuke, you are the main male vocal and will be our main PR member. You're familiar with being on camera and interviews so we expect you to take control of these situations with that experience."

Sasuke nodded with that same blank look on his face. I'd normally be surprised that they'd want the rudest of us all to be the main PR member, but when he'd shown up at the restaurant the night we went to dinner with Ino he'd seemed like a completely different person. If our group failed as singers, he would make a great actor. We continued our meeting until noon, covering multiple possible scenarios and how to handle them. By the time we were released to go to lunch, my throat felt much better, but I continued to not speak in hopes that I'd be able to participate in the recording studio later on. While on lunch, Sakura ate a sandwich and I simply drank hot chicken broth. We sat at the table. While scrolling through instagram, Sakura spoke casually, "What was Sasuke's deal today? He seemed more of an ass than usual."

I debated not telling her about our fight, but slowly typed out on my phone a short explanation. She read it while she chewed a bite of her sandwich and then nodded in understanding, smiling after she swallowed her bite. I gave her a confused look. Why would she smile at that? She cackled in a similar fashion as Tenten often did, "Can't you see why he's mad?" I nodded and typed out, "Yes, I yelled at him." She shook her head and laughed again, "Of course yelling at him would push his buttons, but he's mad because he cares, Hinata. If he didn't care about what happened on your date, he wouldn't have approached you to warn you to begin with."

Realization struck me. He cared? That kind of made sense. Sasuke wasn't the type to show interest in anything that didn't personally benefit him so for him to go out of his way to tell me his thoughts on the whole situation was odd. I was so focused on my annoyance with him that I'd thought he was just trying to hurt me when in reality he was trying to help me, in his own way. Granted, his approach was anything but gentle or polite, but it was as close to nice as he could get without hurting his own pride. Sakura's smile slowly sank into a knowing expression as mine changed into one of guilt. I'd said some unnecessary things when he'd approached me last night. I'd have to find a way to apologize to him at the end of the day.

I didn't want to try to apologize before dance practice because if I just make him mad, it was going to be an awkward one. After lunch ended, I headed to the dance studio with Sakura and a fresh thermos of hot tea. Practice went as normal as it could with Sasuke sulking and me awkwardly avoiding him. Sakura and Gaara seemed to be getting along better than usual, laughing and throwing playful hits once in a while when one of them would miss a step. I was envious of their teamwork. They looked amazing when they danced together, as if they were meant to be a pair. Tsunade spent almost all of her time coaching Sasuke and I since we were the two with the most issues with each other and with dancing in general.

After a long a grueling practice, we all headed quietly out into the hallway with towels around our shoulders to help wipe the sweat. We walked in a loose group with Sasuke and Gaara behind Sakura and I as we headed towards the recording studio to hopefully finish out our day. As we turned the corner to the hallway the studio was in, I briefly searched the busy hall to make sure I wouldn't run into anyone only to notice a familiar shuck of blonde hair cluelessly approaching. My heart started speeding up and I glanced around as though there were a place to hide. There was a shove from behind me and I nearly tripped as Sasuke pushed past Sakura and I. We glanced at each other before Gaara followed suit. The two young men walked shoulder to shoulder in front of us as if trying to block anyone's view from us, like bodyguards.

I grabbed Sakura's hand as tears started to slip down my cheeks. I'd been so thoughtless of Sasuke's efforts to be a friend to me and he was still protecting me. With the busy day that I'd had, Naruto hadn't crossed my mind too much, but now that the guys were actively standing up for me, last night was all I could think about. I did my best to muffle my sniffles as the waterworks started back up, but it was obvious to every person passing us that I was upset. A few other trainees passing by threw curious glances in our direction as they walked by. Sakura peeked around Gaara's shoulder before finally noticing the much more closely approaching Naruto and turning into a human tomato. So much for not starting drama with him.

She shoved past the two boys, effectively destroying their plan of keeping us hidden, and stormed right up to the tan blonde, poking him hard on the chest, "Naruto Uzumaki! You're such a piece of shit!" The blonde froze and looked down at the fireball pinkette with a reddening face. A dark-haired guy with a ponytail was walking with Naruto and he froze and rolled his eyes as if he wasn't surprised this was happening. He leaned against the wall and started playing on his phone as Naruto got reprimanded. The boy in question couldn't get a word out as Sakura gave him a vocal lashing, "How DARE you gaslight Hinata like that! You're lucky she even liked you! You're not worthy of her and you STILL fucked it up. As if I'd ever consider getting with you after a stunt like this. Are you stupid? Slow in the head? You're a pig! All you Uzumaki's really are the same, aren't you?"

Naruto's stunned features quickly switched to one of anger and he growled back at her, "Don't compare me to Karin. I know that's what you're doing." At this point, the rest of us were standing behind Sakura just in case we needed to hold her back and multiple people in the hall were standing around watching the argument unfold. Sakura looked flabbergasted that Naruto had the nerve to talk back to her, "Does that hurt your feelings, Naruto? Too bad! You're just like Karin! You disregard other people's feelings for your own benefit. You should've turned Hinata away to begin with if you weren't interested, not played her like you did."

The boy finally looked up and made eye contact with me as I peeked over Gaara's shoulder. I quickly turned away and tried to discreetly wipe away my still-falling tears, but it was too late. He'd seen them. "Hinata? I told you already, I'm so sorry!" I looked back at him in disbelief only to see him walk past Sakura to try and approach me. Fear shook through me and I took a step back. He'd hurt me too much and I didn't want to be near him at all. "Hina-"

Sasuke's hand shot up and held Naruto roughly at bay. The blonde's blue eyes left me and focused on the taller raven-haired boy, "This is between me and Hinata, move." Sasuke scoffed with arrogance, "Fuck off, Asshole." Now the pony-tailed friend was paying attention. A more than verbal argument seemed to be about to break out. Naruto got nose-to-nose with Sasuke for a moment before sighing and taking a step back. He refocused his gaze on me and frowned, "I really am sorry, Hinata. I'll find a way to make it up to you. I promise."

The still-raw ache in my heart flared up as I unfortunately still felt attracted to him even after last night. I averted my gave to the floor and waited for the pair to move along before following my group into the studio. Sakura pulled me into a hug and I used it as an excuse to take a moment to pull myself together. Once we parted, we all headed into the booth to start re-recording the songs that still needed work done. My singing voice was, thankfully, just fine after letting it rest all day. Hours later, we were released from recording and were trudging back to our rooms to get to sleep after a long day. Sakura sprinted ahead of us because her favorite drama had already started and she didn't want to miss it.

Gaara, Sasuke, and I walked normally back to the room. Once I was at the door, I turned to see the other two's retreating forms, only to speak as clearly as possible, "Wait, g-guys." The two turned to look at me, Gaara curiously and Sasuke blankly. I took a few steps until I was standing right in front of them and bowed in thanks, "Thank you for standing up for me and I'm sorry for what I said and did last night. N-Neither of you deserved to be treated that way." Gaara quickly gave a small smile, "No worries, Hinata. We're good." He quietly turned and entered his room, leaving me alone with the more broody male.

I smiled at him gratefully as he left before turning to Sasuke with a hopeful look. He stared down at me with a glare and I nearly fell apart right there as his glare reminded me of a certain dream I'd had a few nights ago, but I held myself together and waited for his response. He uncrossed his arms and reached forward to hold one of my strands of hair for a moment. I felt the familiar heat of blush running to my cheeks.

He leaned forward a bit with a smirk on his lips. The closer he got, the harder it was to breath. Just as I could smell his wonderful cologne, he tugged on the strand and snickered, "It's whatever, Hyuuga. Just don't ever yell at me again or you'll regret it." He then turned and threw a wave over his shoulder before returning to his room. I couldn't stop the smile that came to my lips despite him pulling my hair being annoying.

At least I still had their friendship!


	18. Chapter 18

**AAAAND HERE'S AN UPDATE!**

 **Replies to Reviewers:**

 **Splash Attack- Thank you so much for the review! I appreciate your loyalty even though it sometimes takes me a bit to update. I love getting your feedback and hope you like this chapter!**

 **Hima21- Thanks for reviewing! I promise there will be more actual SasuHina and GaaSaku moments later on, but I don't want to rush the relationships too quickly! I try to sneak some in every here and then just so it stays interesting.**

 **Guest- Despite what most people believe, I do appreciate feedback even if it is negative. I made Sakura the leader of the group because she has the qualities to be a leader. While this is a Hinata-Centric story, the other characters are still very important and have impact. I do make Hinata seem a little pathetic, for lack of better words, here and there because the story is still quite early in. She is learning, growing, and forming relationships that are going to help her gain confidence and no longer act this way. I promise she will not be acting like this throughout the whole story and I hope you continue reading and giving your feedback in the future! Thanks for the review.**

 **ultrachols- Thanks for reviewing! *Spoiler Alert* Just because Naruto doesn't end up with Sakura or Hinata doesn't mean he isn't going to get a girl!**

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The next two days were a complete blur. We'd finally mastered all of our songs both vocally and physically and had successfully done a full run-through of our debut show lineup with little to no error. My sore throat healed fairly quickly since I had seriously laid off talking unless necessary. Everything went back to normal between all of us. Sakura and Sasuke argued all the time, like siblings really. Gaara and I quietly enjoyed the company of our friends. Most importantly, everyone was on good terms and focused on the quickly approaching debut.

We hadn't heard much of anything from Karin or Naruto, but found out that Naruto still got a job offer from Evolution on the terms that he wouldn't meddle in any groups' affairs unless requested by the members. Jiraiya and Tenten had given him a strong tongue lashing. Sakura had said she'd seen him leave Jiraiya's office afterwards with a face as pale as a sheet of paper.

After having a few days to figure out my emotions, I realized that I COULD forgive Naruto for what he did. He'd admitted that it was a mistake and that he regretted the act, but I just couldn't feel the same way about him as I previously had and that was probably for the best since he blatantly said that he wasn't interested in that type of relationship with me. I'd yet to speak with the blonde after he and Sasuke had nearly fought in the hall since seeing him still caused a sharp ache in my chest, but I'm sure with time we'll be able to become friends.

Sakura severely disliked my decision and warned me that if he pulls something like this again, she will castrate him and send the removed pieces to his family in the mail. I'd nearly fainted at the image, but just hugged her in thanks for her support. Tenten had told us that she'd apologized to Neji for the wreck of a date they'd had and he had politely told her that he thought it would be best if they stuck to their own type of people, which had Tenten heartbroken even though she wouldn't tell us. We could all tell because she was spending more time in Sakura and my's room then usual and was trying even harder than usual to be energetic and positive. I'd promised her that I would help her get another date with him, but it'd have to wait until after the debut since we were all so busy.

Come Thursday morning, I woke up to loud dance music blaring from the livingroom. I groggily glanced at my phone which told me it was nearly nine in the morning and I was running late. I shot out of bed like a bullet and stormed out of my room with my bath-towel in my arms only to freeze at the odd sight that reached my eyes. Tenten was leading Sasuke and Gaara in a yoga routine. The furniture had been moved to the walls to make room for one giant yoga mat. All three people turned to look at me and then look over to Sakura's doorway. I followed their gazes and saw Sakura very clearly in the same state of mind as I was. How had they gotten in? Why didn't my alarm go off?

Tenten paused the music, which seemed inappropriate for a yoga session, "I turned your alarms off so you could get some extra sleep for the big weekend coming up. Now, come join us!" Sakura groaned loudly, "Tente-" Tenten barked, "On the matts, now!" A vision of Tsunade swept over our minds and we scurried to join the other half of our group, who looked just as annoyed as we were. Sakura stomped over with her hair up in a messy bun, a comfy pair of short shorts, and a yellow sweater with some band name on it that I didn't recognize.

I, myself, wore comfy short shorts with one of Neji's old shirts that was baggy on me. Tenten pushed play on her dance music and we followed her lead as she did a series of stretches over the next hour. I glanced over at the others as we were in downward facing dog and saw Sasuke looking over at me with a smirk. I shook my head as best I could in this position and rolled my eyes before refocusing my gaze on Sakura, who was in between us. She looked angry with a glare on her eyes as she stared down at her hands on the mat.

She really wasn't a morning person. It was kind of funny that she was great at everything and the one things she couldn't master was being cheerful right when waking up. A snicker slipped past my lips at her pout and her eyes shot to me dangerously, causing a full-on laugh to escape my mouth. I moved to muffle it with a hand and lost my balance, tumbling down onto the mat in a fit of giggles at the girl's shocked expression. The pinkette quickly got over her surprise and started wrestling me on the mat, tickling my sides and growling out, "Oh, I'll give you something to laugh about Hinata!"

I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly felt very light and giggly. She was soon in a fit of giggles as well and Tenten yelled, "You bitches are going down!" before jumping on top of us and joining the fight. A few moments more of the three of us rolling around laughing and the music suddenly stopped. We all looked up to see Sasuke on his knees with an annoyed look on his face, "We're leaving if you all are just going to play around." Tenten shot to her feet before quickly circling Sasuke before jumping onto his back with a squeal, "Quit being such a pain in the ass, Sasuke!"

and the pair landed on top of me before I could move. I was momentarily in shock. Sasuke's body was pressed against mine, him holding himself and Tenten up by his elbows so as not to crush me. I thought he would be mad, but behind his serious mask, I caught a glimpse of mischief and proceeded to continue laughing while tickling his sides. He let out a roar, "Hyuga!" before all hell broke loose. Sakura got to her feet and tackled Gaara to the mat right next to us, both of them laughing as they tried to overpower each other playfully. Tenten pulled Sasuke off of me and onto his side on the mat, trying to hold his arms behind his head while I tickled him, but struggling to do so. The air was filled with laughter for nearly ten whole minutes before we all were too out of breath to continue our escapades. We all lay side by side on the mat, breathing hard with a stray laugh escaping here and there. Tenten was the first to speak, "Well that organized yoga session quickly fell apart!"

We all let out varying sounds of agreement. I glanced over at Sasuke, who was beside me and noticed he was looking back at me. I smiled at him and nudged his side shyly. He wasn't smiling, but there was a sliver of something in his eyes that told me that he was happy right now. I was getting better and better at reading him. I felt kind of proud. We eventually all got the energy to roll up the giant mat and place the furniture back where it should be before Tenten spoke up, "Oh! I forgot to tell you! The reason you're not training right now is you're all scheduled for appointments at Lee's Salon at noon for some last-minute makeovers!" We all let out a collective, "What!" before Tenten cackled loudly and sprinted out of the room with her giant mat in her arms.

Sakura squealed excitedly once the door was shut, "Yes! I'm so ready for this! You guys get out of here and go shower. You stink." She pulled me away from the two sweaty guys and made a shooing motion with her free hand. Gaara looked down at his damp clothes and nodded before giving a small wave and heading towards the door to do as told, but Sasuke scoffed, "Please, you two smell worse than we do, " before he followed. After they were gone, Sakura and I took turns using the shower before eventually getting dressed and ready to go.

Lee was a prodigy in the fashion world. He'd opened his own salon on his eighteenth birthday, waiting until then only because he couldn't legally own it unless he was of age, and has been one of the highest requested beauticians ever since. His clients are often very wealthy and/or famous. He was also Might Guy's son. Might Guy is Evolution's personal trainer, in case anyone forgot about that. It seemed that that family was big on appearance and health. We all joined Tenten in her short-limo and quietly road to the salon across town. There were large bodyguards arming each side of the front door which made it look almost like a fancy night club. Tenten told us to walk right past them and head straight in and tell them who we were and we'd get taken care of. I really wanted her to come in with us, but she had an interview to attend to so she couldn't.

After wishing us the best of luck with our makeovers and promising to be back as soon as her interview finished, she left us on the curb in front of the modern-looking building. Sakura took a deep breath before motioning for us to follow her, "Well, we might as well go in and get started!" She was truly our leader, both on stage and off. She just had a good sense of what we as a group need, even if we didn't want it. We all followed her through the front doors, me eyeing the doormen uncomfortably as we passed. The second the door shut behind us, there was a manly scream of distress. I glanced ahead and saw a muscular man with a black bowl-cut and a green too-tight jumpsuit throw himself onto the ground in front of Sakura's feet and begin planting kisses on her hand.

I heard Sasuke start snickering behind me. Sakura's face was turning red, and it wasn't from her being attracted to the young man. She quickly slipped her hand out of his grip and stepped back a step, bumping against Gaara's front but seemingly preferring that to this odd man's kisses, "H-Hello! We're Prestige and we're here for our makeovers. Is Lee available?" Her voice wavered slightly as she tried her best to keep her composure. The strange man leapt to his feet in a grand gesture, "Yes, my beautiful maiden, I am the Lee that you seek! It is what I seek that I wish to converse about!"

We all silently stared at him as he twirled in romantic circles in front of us, sneakily grabbing one of the roses from the vase on the bored looking secretary's desk and kneeling down in front of Sakura once more, "My love, you are the most exquisite creature I've ever lay eyes on! Please be my girlfriend!" Sasuke's snickers became very poorly muffled laughter. He leaned his head down to try and hide behind my much smaller frame. His laughs were slightly contagious and even I had to cover my mouth to hide the amused smile that was forming from Sakura, who looked ready to kill.

She gingerly accepted the rose, "I'm, um, flattered, Lee. Unfortunately, I'm not looking for a boyfriend right now." I could practically see the steam flowing out of her ears. Her hands were shaking with effort to control her anger. She was doing so well! There was a ruckus from behind Lee and a tall blond woman came out from a side room to lay eyes on us. She had beautiful olive skin and dark blonde hair in four messy ponytails. Gaara stepped past us and immediately rushed into her open arms. We all, including Lee, looked on in confusion.

It was rare to see Gaara act that way. We waited as the woman held him tight and smoothed his hair as he buried his face into her shoulder. After a bit, the secretary had Sakura, Sasuke, and I seated at work stations next to eachother and Gaara finally pulled away from the stranger. His face was pink as though he were embarrassed or trying not to cry. My heart ached slightly at the sight. It was clear that he cared deeply for whoever this person was. The girl let out a raspy laugh and stood with her hands on her hips in front of us, "Hey, I'm Temari, Gaara's big sister. Tenten wanted to surprise him." Gaara's face got a deeper shade of red and he looked at her with clear admiration in his eyes. He spoke more comfortably than usual, "When did you start working here?"

The blonde motioned for him to sit at the station on Sasuke's other side and started placing the large body cover over his front so she could start doing his hair. Two other assistants came out to work on Sasuke and I while Lee started working on Sakura, to her despair. We all eavesdropped on the siblings' conversation. "When Tenten realized I'd been the one trying to get you an audition, she pulled some strings and got me hired here. I've been retaking some beauty classes to brush up on my skills so I don't let her down." Gaara seemed at ease with he more than anyone we'd seen, "What about Kankuro? He hasn't been responding to my texts."

Temari snickered, "That's a surprise for later today, little brother. Let's talk about this group you have with you. Are they treating you well?" She glanced over at us with a crazed look in her eye, "I don't have to hurt anyone, right?" I gulped nervously and waited for Gaara to reply, avoiding her sharp gaze and focusing on my reflection straight ahead. "They're good people." His answer was short and to the point, unlike how he'd been speaking to her before. She paused before replying, "What's that? Why're you being so short? Which one is it that you like?"

Sasuke started snickering again and I glanced over in my peripheral to see Gaara's face matching his hair, "Don't be weird, Temari." The blonde left his hair for a moment and came to inspect both Sakura and I, walking around each of us with a studious look before pointing down at Sakura, "It's this one. I can tell." Sakura was too preoccupied listening to Lee's endless rambles of love confessions to listen in on the conversation and didn't even know she was being checked out. Gaara groaned, "Stop it, Temari. Just cut my hair or whatever."

It was kind of cute to see him whining about being teased by his big sister. I smiled to myself and looked up to see the blond staring at me through the mirror again. My smile left my face and she cackled before returning to Gaara and pulling at his ear, "Don't talk back to me or I'll shave your head." She leaned down to get closer to his ear, "You should've went for the other one. She has bigger tits." Heat rushed to my face and Sasuke let out a laugh. I'm glad at least he was having a great day! Gaara simply groaned and sank lower into his seat as our haircuts continued. I wasn't even paying attention to what my stylist was doing and was finished before I knew it. She'd simply given me a trim and cut my bangs back into their straight across look. They'd grown out and I'd been pushing them to the side of my face.

She turned my chair away from the mirror and proceeded to start doing my eyebrows. I zoned out somewhere during this process and snapped out of it later on when they were finished and spinning back around to do my makeup. At the risk of sounding snobby, I actually liked going to the salon to get my hair and stuff done. It was relaxing to me. I quite liked having my makeup done by others as well because I'm personally not talented with it at all. I can handle basic, everyday looks, but on-stage looks would most likely be a challenge for me to pull off alone. I glanced over while my stylist was selecting a lip color and noticed Sasuke and Gaara looked almost the same as before their makeovers. They were finished with their hair and were currently getting male mani-pedis. Sasuke was playing a fighting game on his phone and Gaara was speaking quietly with his sister, who had insisted on being the one to take care of him throughout the whole process.

Both boys had their hair and eyebrows touched up and looking perfect. Sasuke's stylist was trying to give him tips on starting a skincare routine, but he ignored her. He was lucky she wasn't fawning over him like almost any other girl would. I glanced over to look at Sakura and nearly jump out of my chair in shock. They were in the middle of putting waist-length extensions in. She was already gorgeous, but the extra hair made her look nearly ethereal. She pouted at me as Lee worked on her hair. It was obvious that he was doing a very thorough job and it looked painful. I gave her an encouraging smile before returning to face my stylist, who had selected a pink that nearly matched my natural lip color. Nearly an hour later, we were all finished with our makeovers and Tenten was on her way to pick us up. Sakura and I had had our nails done, mine in a classy lavendar and hers in a vibrant green with diamond decals here and there.

Even I couldn't take my eyes off of the pinkette. She looked absolutely amazing. It was no wonder Lee was as famous as he was. If I didn't know her and saw her walking down the street, I'd stop to ask for her autograph just by how she looked alone. Her hair was parted with a side bang and then the rest held naturally romantic waves that rolled down her back and matched her natural hair color perfectly. She looked like a princess. The girl was still pouting, anxiously turning to look in the mirror nearby every few moments to fumble with her hair. We were all standing near the doorway since Tenten was mere minutes away from arriving, waiting on Lee to finish up some paperwork so we could bid him farewell. Sakura turned yet again to mess with her hair and I grabbed her hand away from the pink strands. She looked at me and I shook my head, looking her deep in her eyes, "You look amazing."

The girl had, by far, the most dramatic makeover of us all. She blushed slightly at being caught worrying and nodded before pulling me into a hug, "You look beautiful, too, Hinata." Lee finally approached us, Temari following him with a camera and a smile, "Alright, my new friends, let us take a picture to save this glorious moment in time! Please pose with me!" We all glanced at eachother before frantically gathering together with Lee in the middle and smiling for Temari's camera. As soon as that was finished, there was a honk outside signalling Tenten's arrival. We turned to see her flouncing through the front door with an annoyed look that quickly turned into one of shock as she lay eyes on us. "Oh my GOD you guys look stunning!" After checking each of us out individually, she turned to Lee, who had hope in his eyes, "You did a great job, Lee! Thanks for your hard work." She gave him a quick hug, which he surprisingly accepted calmly, before ushering us all back out to the limo.

The ride home was filled with Tenten's non-stop compliments on how much better we looked now. She especially liked Sakura's makeover, which I'm sure we could all agree was the best one. When we arrived back in our room, Sakura and I spent the rest of the day practicing even though we didn't have to. After dinner we watched some Criminal Minds reruns before heading to bed early for a very busy last day of practice before our debut. The nerves were running high.


	19. Chapter 19

**Here is an update for all of you lovely readers!**

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 **Guest 1- Yes, Naruto was a complete ass to Hinata and Sakura, but a common theme in this fic is growth. Regardless, I do appreciate you reviewing with an opinion and hope you continue to read and give your feedback.**

 **Guest 2- SOMETHING tells me you do not like Sakura Haruno! It may be just a hunch or maybe it's the very negative way you described her in your review. While I may not agree with your opinion, I do wonder why you read a fic that has a secondary couple as Gaara x Sakura if you don't like Sakura. I do hope you keep reading and continue giving feedback, though. Thanks for reviewing!**

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When my alarm woke me the next morning, I just knew that it would be a serious day. Sakura and I met in the living room for our early morning yoga session and completed it in silence. Today is the final day before our debut on LMC(Live Music Channel/I know that's a very basic name, but I didn't know what else to call it!). There won't be a giant audience while we perform, but there will be about 200 people who will include family members and friends of ours that we've made reservations for, along with the people at home watching live on their phones or televisions.

I know Sakura has her mother, her mom's boyfriend, and that asshole that she said keeps trying to force himself onto her. Gaara's brother and sister are supposed to be there. Sasuke had mentioned he had someone coming, but didn't go into detail on who it was. I only had Neji coming to support me. There was no time to feel sorry for myself with the sheer force of anxiety for the show making itself the main focus. I glanced over at Sakura's blank face.

Her new, more lengthy, hair was tied back into a high ponytail and her tired eyes were focused on the floor beneath her as she stretched. She looked just as stressed as I felt. Regardless of our nervousness, we had to get through the final day of rehearsals with our best feet forward. We'd even be running a full set on the LMC stage at the end of the day to ensure a smooth show. After finishing up and getting ready for practice, we met the guys in the same practice room we'd learned our choreography in with Tsunade.

Waiting for us there were Tenten, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi. We stood in front of them silently and waited for them to explain what we were to do. Kakashi soon stepped up with a stern expression on his face, "We need to have a small chat." My blood ran cold. Were they cancelling the show? Did something happen? He started pacing in front of us back and fourth for a moment before speaking in a serious tone, his usually charming smile nowhere in sight, "It's come to my attention that you all have been involved in an unusual amount of mischief in the past two weeks. While I was aware of a few of the things that happened, there were some events that I've just recently been made aware of. I want you all to understand quite clearly that I will not stand for misrepresentation of this agency, do I make myself clear?"

We all were shocked. Did he really believe that all of the drama was our causing and not the Uzumaki family's? We all nodded quickly in response to his statement, knowing it was better not to question the person in charge of our futures. I could see where he was coming from even if everything wasn't our fault. We were still highly involved. If things like that kept happening after our debut and we end up being a successful group, there would be some serious consequences.

He faced us straight on and relaxed visibly, "I don't want you all to think that I'm angry with you. I have high hopes for Prestige and offer my full support in your creative endeavors. All I ask is that you don't tarnish my, or the company's, name while striving for your goals. Are we clear?" We all nodded in agreement again, less nervous now that he'd lightened up. We soon began our last day of practice for our big debut show, with Kakashi spending the entire day with us so he could see the final result of our training. The day flew by in a whirl of sweat, nerves, and focus. All four of us performing were dead set on being perfect for our first show.

None of us talked about anything off-topic throughout the whole day, only commenting here and there on things we can help each other correct. Even Tenten was in work-mode. I didn't even have the time to focus on Sasuke and I dancing so closely because I was so nervous to mess up my dance moves in front of the CEO. Finally, after a long day, we all were riding in a company car to the LMC building to run our final practice set on stage. We climbed out of the car and stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the large building. The majority of the building's paneling was made of screens that constantly played clips of performances from the past.

There were large security officers standing near the entrance, similarly to Lee's salon. Sakura grabbed my hand with her own shaky one and I squeezed it supportively before following Kakashi and Tenten into the building. The inside was very modern and elegant. Crispy white floors with soft black walls, lined with screens very similar to the ones outside the building. We were lead quickly through hall after hall until finally we were behind the curtain of the stage we were to perform on. Endless staff members with headsets on and all black outfits worked around us, giving us information about our set here and there and expecting us to be able to retain it all.

I recall one saying that they'd have a vocal track ready on mute just in case one of us gets too nervous to sing or starts running out of breath. I felt negatively about that. If someone is paying to hear you sing live, shouldn't you sing live? If and when we make it big, I would do my best to ensure our fans get the most live performances they can! However, since we were still a mere debut group, we didn't really get a say in how our stage was prepared. After being equipped with our microphone headsets, we were ushered onto stage and into our opening positions.

We would only be performing three songs for the live debut and then the rest of the album will then be recorded live for later broadcasts and advertisement. The three songs we were performing for our actual debut spot were We Don't Talk Anymore, Over and Over Again, and Familiar in that order. We Don't Talk Anymore is the title song for the album, Over and Over Again was decided so we could showcase our vocals, and Familiar was the song chosen to be promoted primarily by the agency. That meant that Familiar and We Don't Talk anymore would be the two big songs off of the album, promotion-wise.

Everything was running smoothly until it was time to perform Familiar. Halfway through the song, there was a loud thump and we all turned to see Gaara laying flat on his back with his eyes closed. Sakura let out a shocked scream and scurried to his side to fan him. The music stopped as Sasuke and I quickly joined her and brought a bottle of water and a towel to him. He woke up almost as quickly as he'd fainted and immediately had a bright red face when he saw Sakura holding a bottle to his lips. He quickly sat up and held the bottle for himself before shooing the concerned staff members away, "I'm fine. I just got overheated for a moment."

Our voices still carried through the microphones. Sakura stared at him in concern, which he pointedly ignored by avoiding eye contact with her as Sasuke helped him to his feet and handed him a towel to wipe his sweat with. Tenten and Kakashi then arrived on stage with concerned looks. Tenten pushed her way in front of Gaara and did a quick check over him, "Are you okay? What happened?" Kakashi silently waited for the redhead's reply with a bit more of a levelheaded feel about him. Gaara waved his hand dismissively again, "I'm okay, I'm sorry. I just got too hot for a second there." Kakashi patted Gaara's shoulder supportively, "Don't ever apologize for something like this. Your health is important and I place that above anything. Do you feel okay enough to perform tomorrow?"

Gaara nodded quickly, "Of course!" Kakashi nodded and glanced at his expensive looking watch, "Tenten, please get them home so they can get to bed early. I think they've worked hard enough for one day." Tenten nodded and started leading us off stage so we could be freed from our microphones and their wiring. A pair of middle-aged gentlemen, who I assumed were the producers of LMC, approached Kakashi as he walked off-stage and seemed to voice concerns with us not finishing our practice, but our CEO quickly started settling them down. Before we knew it, we were in the elevator at the agency and on our way to our rooms to turn in early for the night.

Sasuke and Gaara walked past us and headed toward their room while I unlocked Sakura and I's door, only to be stopped by Sakura speaking nervously, "Uh, hey you guys..." I looked over to see her scratching her elbow awkwardly and avoiding eye contact with everyone, "Do you want to sleep over as one last team building activity before our debut?" My keys slipped through my hands and I quickly shot down to grab them before looking up to see both her and Gaara's faces were as bright a red as mine, while Sasuke just looked annoyed.

Almost immediately, Sasuke started rambling on about how he'd rather spend his time away from us, but not twenty minutes later we were all laying side by side on the giant make-shift bed we'd made out of all of our blankets and pillows. Sakura and I lay on the right side while the boys lay on the other side. Sakura and Gaara were in the middle. The only way we were able to convince Sasuke to join us was to agree to let him choose the movies we'd be watching. "Ah! What the fuck!" Sakura let out another yell in fear, the handful of popcorn she was holding was tossed in the air. Sasuke grumbled in reply, "Are you going to do this everytime there's a jumpscare?"

She grabbed one of her dropped pieces of popcorn and tossed it at him with a glare, "It's not my fault you chose the scariest movie ever!" I would've laughed at her if I weren't just as spooked. I linked my arm in hers and squeezed closer to her for both her support and mine. She huffed and cuddled closer to me, focusing back in on the movie. The only noise for the next ten minutes was the subtle munch of popcorn and the eery sounds from the tv. As the next jumpscare approached, both Sakura and I screamed in fear.

I believed I could develop my confidence, but never would I NOT be afraid of scary movies. Sasuke let out a dramatic groan before clicking the tv off with the remote, "You're both the biggest babies. Let's just go to sleep." I glanced across everyone to look at him. He looked just as annoyed as he sounded as he turned onto his side with his back facing us. It was kind of cute to see him pouting like a child, but I'd never admit that out loud. I snuck a quick glance at Sakura's other arm clasped around Gaara's similar to how mine was in hers. She must've latched onto him when she was scared. In an attempt to avoid that awkward conversation, I too turned onto my side and decided to try and get some sleep.

-Sakura's POV-

Things had definitely been odd between Gaara and I since the incident in my bedroom. We wordlessly agreed to try and act as though nothing had happened, but I just couldn't stop thinking about it and I could tell that Gaara could sense that. It didn't help that we were always partnered up for everything so we were forced to constantly be around eachother.

It wasn't that I didn't like Gaara, in fact I liked him more than I probably should, but it would never work out and I didn't want him to feel as though I were leading him on. Maybe I should get a boyfriend to distract me from him? The timing was just so bad. If I debut as an unavailable girl, we could lose potential male fans. I know that sounds terrible, but it was the truth. Hinata let out a sigh in her sleep and scooted further into my side, squeezing me closer to Gaara.

I turned onto my side and came face to face with reserved sea foam eyes. For a few moments, I couldn't tear my gaze away from his. He was so handsome and for that minute I let myself be lost in his eyes. All good things must come to an end, though, and Hinata grumbling before starting to get up to head towards the restroom had me squeezing my eyes shut to pretend to be asleep. After hearing her shut the door to the restroom behind her, I peeked up to see Gaara still gazing down at my face.

With my face hot, I turned my back to him in panic, cuddling some of the blanket into my chest for support. I then heard a grumble from Sasuke, "...hogging the damn blanket..." I watched as he went into Hinata's room, still grumbling under his breath about how stupid it was to sleep on the floor when a perfectly good bed was available. I snickered under my breath at his grumpiness, but was cut off when an arm slipped over my waist.

I sucked my breath in in shock, but before I could turn to address the situation, Hinata emerged from the bathroom and I squeezed my eyes shut again to pretend to sleep. There was a small squeak that could only be Hinata laying eyes on Gaara and I and then the shuffling noise of her scurrying away. After a moment I peeked and saw that she had headed into to her bedroom as well. A small smirk formed on my lips and I instinctively looked back to see if Gaara had noticed as well, only to be met with his sleeping face. Well, it seemed as though he were asleep.

He must be exhausted. He DID faint during practice. It'd be terrible of me to wake him up. With a sigh, I relaxed under his arm and decided to just try to sleep.

Tomorrow was the big day!


	20. Chapter 20

**-Hinata's POV-**

Sakura moving next to me woke me from my sleep and the urge to urinate was my only focus. My mind remained very fuzzy as I got to my feet to go relieve myself. After I was finished, I headed back out to the livingroom only to see Sakura and Gaara cuddling in their sleep. My inner teenage girl squealed and nearly had me squealing out loud, but I managed to cut it off before I could bother either of them.

I tiptoed to my room in an attempt to grab my phone and take a photo of them so I could tease Sakura later, but when I reached my night table a hand gripped my wrist and pulled me down against a hard body. A hand covered my mouth to muffle the scared scream that slipped out of my lips. My wide eyes met with Sasuke's teasing one's and I immediately felt less in danger and more nervous. I tried to bite his hand and he moved it away, whispering in a low rumble. I could feel his chest vibrate with his words, "How could I have guessed that your sheets would be purple?"

He let out a snicker and I was aware of every centimeter of our bodies that were touching. I rolled off of him to try and calm the warmth in the pit of my stomach before I did something to embarrass myself. He released my hand and rolled onto his side so we were facing each other. For some reason, I didn't get out of bed or even feel the want to. Our bodies were no longer touching, but I had accepted the covers when Sasuke lifted it to invite me in. Friends lay in bed together all the time...right? I put one of my hands under my pillow and gave him a fake glare, "What're you doing in here, anyway?"

He scoffed and copied my movement, moving one of his hands under his pillow, a smirk on his face, "Those two were hogging the covers. Don't you do the same or I'll just kick you out." I playfully slapped his arm with my free hand, "This is my bedroom, Sasuke!" There was a murmur out in the livingroom and he put a finger to his lips with a hint of a sly smile. I smiled back and we both remained silent for a few moments to listen for anymore noises. When no more came, I finally sighed and re-relaxed before whispering in a more serious manner, "A-Are you nervous about tomorrow?"

When I looked back up, I could practically see Sasuke slowly putting his wall back up. Disappointment crept up on me and I tried to shake it off. He'd seemed to be opening up to being friends with all of us, even seeming more relaxed and like himself around us than just two weeks ago. The guarded look he was giving me as he rambled on about how he doesn't get nervous told me that we had much further to go before he'd trust us with his true personality and feelings. "Are you even listening? You literally just asked me and then you zone out. Didn't Papa Hyuga teach you any manne-...ahh.."

The topic switching to my father immediately made the atmosphere become tense. A flashback of Sasuke clearly seeing me cry at the hospital had me feeling awkward. Would he bring it up now that it was up in the air? How will I explain myself? I closed my eyes and tried to ignore his obvious awkwardness, "Don't worry about it. L-Let's just get some sleep." There was a very long moment of silence before I felt a calloused hand touch my hand that rested on the mattress between us. My eyes shot open and I was surprised to see Sasuke's wall fading ever so slightly. He didn't say anything, but I could tell he was trying to console me.

I interlocked my fingers with to give him a squeeze of gratitude before releasing his hand and truly attempting to fall asleep. I must've been truly exhausted because I fell asleep before I could feel him move his hand away.

 **THE NEXT DAY**

 **-Sakura's POV-**

I woke up before anyone else and felt my face heat up instantly as last night's memories flooded back into my mind. I glanced over to see Gaara's sleeping face not a foot away. He wasn't cuddling me anymore, but my arm was thrown over his waist as he lay on his back and I on my side. His face was cute and relaxed as he continued sleeping despite my staring. He looked so boyish and innocent.

My inner mind started to disagree as my gaze swept slowly over his neck and broad shoulders. I carefully removed my arm from his body as I headed to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee so it'd be done by the time I was finished showering. I stared at his sleeping form as I filled the pot with water, only to be pulled from my zone-out by the water overflowing. My face heated up even more as I cleaned up the mess on the counter and shut the water off. I shook my head and turned to start brewing the coffee. I need to get a boyfriend.

Once the coffee maker was turned on and preparing my daily intake of caffeine, I headed towards my room to get some clothes for the day, only to remember that Hinata and Sasuke had both headed into her room and I hadn't stayed awake long enough to find out what happened. I snatched my phone from my nightstand and crept through the open doorway of Hinata's room. It took everything in me to not burst out laughing at the sight that met my eyes. Sasuke was sprawled out spread eagle and Hinata was tucked into a ball in his side like a puppy would, both out like a light. I snapped a picture before heading back into my room to grab some clothes. I was staring down at my phone as I walked and nearly dropped my phone when Gaara's soft voice cut through the air, "Hey, good morning." I fumbled to collect myself as I turned to give him my best smile, "Good morning, Gaara. There's coffee if yo-"

"Can we talk, Sakura?" My smile dissipated at his solumn face. It was hard to focus on his serious tone when he had just woken up and had yet to wash his face or fix his hair, making his appearance similar to that of a toddler just waking up from a nap. Despite my inner ramblings, I nervously sat cross legged next to him on the makeshift bed/floor, "What's up?" I waited for him to talk and didn't have to wait long. His calculating eyes studied my face as he spoke, as if he were waiting to capture any reaction I may have, "I'd like to ask you to not leave my sight once we're at the LMC building, okay?"

My heart started beating faster at his words. I did my best to hide my attraction to his forwardness, "Um, why is that?" He looked confused, as though I should know what he's talking about, but answered nonetheless, "You're family will be there and I want to make sure you're safe." He glanced down at his lap towards the end of his statement and I noticed a slight blush on his cheeks. His gaze re-met mine and I tried to find the right words to say, "A-Ah, yes! Sure! Okay! Yeah, that's fine. No problem!"

I fumbled to get to my feet and head back to my room to finally get my clothes picked out so I could shower, "There's, um, there's coffee if you want some." He didn't reply, but quietly watched me fumble into my room and back out moments later to head to the bathroom. Once the bathroom door was closed behind me, I turned the shower on and stared at my reflection in the mirror with a bright red face and a look of absolute defeat. I really need to get a boyfriend.

-Hinata's POV-

I felt warmth engulfing my back and instinctively curled up closer to it. Knowing today would be a big day, I took a moment to relax and gather myself before getting up. The warmth spread as something heavy fell over my waist and I felt a soft breath against the back of my neck and my eyes shot open in realization. Sasuke had slept in my bed with me last night. That warmth wasn't my pillows. That warmth was a living, breathing body that would tease me later for openly enjoying it's touch.

I tried to peel his arm off of my waist, but that only made him squeeze tighter and pull my body flush against his. Heat erupted on my face and my grip on his arm loosened. If I moved too much, he'd no doubt get to touch areas that I very much didn't want him to. A knock suddenly started loudly sounding from the front door and I felt him jolt awake. I didn't even have the chance to pretend to sleep before he jerked his body away from mine. My body unconsciously yearned for his warmth when it was so suddenly removed.

I turned to look at him and caught a glimpse of the panic in his eyes before he could hide it. He coolly climbed off of the bed and gathered his phone before leaving the room to silently answer the door. My gaze followed him out of the room with a pang of hurt running through my veins. He looked absolutely aghast that he had been cuddling with me. Was I gross or something? He must really not like me. It wasn't as though I was hoping he'd be attracted to me or something, I just didn't expect him to seem almost disgusted by me.

I slowly climbed out of bed to see who had been at the door, only to have Tenten's panicked voice give me the answer before I could look, "Are you all just now getting up?! You have to leave for the interview in one hour, what the fuck! Let's go!" That woke me right up! I glanced down at my phone to see that it was nearly eleven and we had our live debut interview with LMC at one oclock, but we had to get there at noon so we could get our makeup done and get comfortable with some of the questions we may be asked.

I shot back into my room to grab some clothes before sprinting past everyone in the room to take a shower. Sakura and Gaara were sitting at the dining table eating oatmeal and drinking coffee with looks of amusement on their faces. They both had obviously gotten up much earlier since they were all ready to go. Sasuke either wasn't stressed or hid it very well as he gave a nod before waving off Tenten, "Chill out. You're more worried than us and you're not even debuting." Tenten flipped him off, but he didn't see it as he left the room to undoubtedly go shower in his own room. I shut the bathroom door behind me and took the quickest shower I've ever taken.

 **-At The LMC Studio-**

Once we all had our hair and makeup done, we met up with the show's host backstage. The show was famous for consistently having guest hosts, similar to that of Saturday Night Live. We hadn't been informed of who would be hosting and all sat patiently on the two couches as we waited to find out which celebrity would be helping us through our big day. Tenten stood at the doorway, tapping her foot anxiously. Kakashi stood next to her with his usual handsome smile. He would tap her arm every now and then to try and signal her to calm down, but she pointedly ignored him. The door finally crept open and all of us were stunned silent by the appearance of Konan.

Konan was the first solo artist to make it big from Evolution Entertainment. She sang mainly rock music, but dabbled in some alternative and punk music from time to time. Her range was famous, as was her ability to give amazing live performances. We all rose to our feet and bowed respectfully. Even Tenten had stars in her eyes. Konan was almost never at the agency, so it was rare for even Tenten to interact with her.

Next to Tenten, Konan was one of the famous singers that I looked up to. Konan bowed back to us and we all sat down at the same time, her sitting on a plush chair facing us. She didn't smile, but I almost didn't expect her to. In all of her interviews and music videos she was very much a serious person. That's just who she was and that's how she marketed herself. Her voice was naturally raspy when she spoke, but not in an unhealthy way, "Let's get straight to business since we only have a few minutes to review." We all sat in silence with our full attention on the rock star. She wore leather, high-wasted skinny pants, black pumps, and a matching leather corset with a blood red fur coat over her shoulders. Her arms weren't in the arm hole, so the coat just rested on her shoulders.

"There's not a lot of advice I can give you since most of the questions you'll be receiving will be live from the call-in line, but what I can tell you is to avoid saying um or uh in the middle of your sentences." Just as quickly as she'd sat down, she got up and smoothed out her fur coat, "Alright, kids, let's get this over with." Everyone in the room besides Kakashi was confused. That was it? It must've been because she left the room and soon a few members of the backstage staff for LMC were ushering the four of us towards the area just to the side of where the camera's would be filming so we'd be ready to walk out when we were announced.

Soon, the cameras were rolling and all was silent as Konan spoke directly into the camera from her chair on set. The set was designed like most talk-shows would be. The host had their own chair to the side of two large couches, but facing them slightly so they could direct questions to their guests and interact with them comfortably. The furniture was very nice and the coffee and end tables paired with the set were expertly decorated with flowers or magazines to make it look like an at-home experience. I could feel the nervous energy radiating from my bandmates as we were herded towards the set as Konan announced us and the audience clapping track played through speakers all around.

Sakura and I sat on one couch and the boys sat on the other, Sasuke sitting closest to Konan, as directed by Tenten since he was to be our Public Relations member. He'd be the first one to get questions since he was closest to the host. Once the clapping stopped playing through the speakers, Konan didn't hesitate to look down at the fancy tablet on her lap, "The questions are already rolling in from our fans, Prestige. It looks like you all will be pretty popular!" Konan still didn't smile a lot, but you could tell that she was putting an effort to seem energetic to fit her Host roll. We all smiled and offered bows to the camera in an attempt to thank our potential fans and our host. Konan smirked at Sasuke as he sat comfortably and gazed at her with a cocky look, "I can already tell who's going to be causing trouble with this group. Look at how relaxed he is, guys! We're just on the largest live show in the nation, right? No big deal."

We all laughed and Sasuke nodded in agreement, making a nonchalant gesture with his hand to jokingly show that it wasn't a big deal. He really was a hell of an actor. I sat the furthest from Konan in hopes that I wouldn't get asked too many questions. While I was excited to be on the show, I didn't want to accidentally say something stupid on LIVE TV. "Alright, guys, let's get the introductions out of the way so we can move on to some questions. You on the left, you start!"

I quickly rose to my feet and gave the steadiest smile I could, "My name is Hinata. It's a pleasure to be here today!" I sat back down after bowing to the camera. We were told to treat the camera as though it were a physical embodiment of our fans and not just a piece of equipment. Sakura got to her feet and introduced herself similarly to how I should, then Gaara, and finally Sasuke. Once the introductions were finished, Konan wasted no time shooting questions at us. "This first question comes from Mariana from Spain: How old are all of you?" Konan gestured for Sakura to answer the question and she did without hesitation, "Hinata and I are both eighteen. Sasuke is the eldest at twenty, and Gaara is the baby at seventeen." Gaara chimed in when Sakura gave him a playful look when she mentioned his age, "It's only a one year difference."

I let out a small laugh at the slight pout he had. Sasuke nudged Gaara in the side, "Hey, respect your elders, kid." Gaara glared up at Sasuke in a way that made it obvious he wasn't really mad. Konan interrupted with another question, "Alright, Irene from Canada is asking what each of your roles are in the group." She gestured for me to answer and I tried my best to answer clearly, "Ah! Well, Sakura and Gaara share the main dancer title and also share the main rapper title, but Sakura is our official group leader. Sasuke is the main male singer and I'm the main female singer." Sakura added onto my explanation, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and squeezing, "And she's our visual, obviously." I felt a familiar heat pool at my cheeks and shook my head at Sakura for teasing me on screen.

Konan kept the ball rolling, "Alright! Janessa from France wants to know who each of your celebrity crushes are." She gestured for Sasuke to answer first, who did without a moments rest, "I've gotta say Konan is my celebrity crush." We all looked at him in shock. How bold was it for him to flirt with the host live. Konan scoffed, "Flattery will get you nowhere, babe. Next!" Sasuke took the rejection like a breeze and laughed it off. It was obvious that he'd been joking about his crush, but didn't want to answer the question so he used Konan as a cop-out.

Gaara answered softly, "I'm not sure, honestly...maybe Kurenai Yuhi? I went through a faze in middle school where I really liked her." Sakura and I let out small laughs at his blush. Kurenai Yuhi was a famous actress, popular for being the love interest in action movies. She was about fifteen years his senior so it seemed odd to try and picture the two next to each other. Sasuke snickered, "She could be your mom, bro." Gaara glared at him again, "She's still pretty!" Sakura cut off their arguing with a clear answer, as though she'd thought about this before, "Sasori." We all looked at her in surprise. Sasori was the drummer in Konan's band. Konan smirked at her, "Do you want his number? I'll put in a good word for you, if you want."

Sakura's face went red and she put her hands up in defense, "I could never do that! I really want to focus on my career right now. I'm flattered, though. Thank you." Konan shrugged before motioning for me to continue. I froze. I had been so busy paying attention to the others that I hadn't thought about my answer. I blurted out the first name that came to mind, "Kiba Inuzuka." Sakura let out a low whistle, "Ooohh that's a good one! You two know each other don't you? Cute and I change mine?" I glanced at her with a red face as the boys let out various noises of amusement. Konan didn't dwell on my answer, thankfully, "Alright, this one is from Alicia in Brazil and it's for Gaara and Sakura: Are you two related because you look a lot alike?"

The two in question glanced at eachother and let out small laughs. Sakura put her hands up in defense, "No, we are not!" Gaara nodded in agreement. "This one is for you other two: can you confirm or deny the rumors about a Hyuga/Uchiha merger?" My heartbeat quickened and I locked eyes with Sasuke for a moment before he tore his gaze away and answered the question easily, "I don't think either of us know anything about that as of right now. We've been so focused on our debut that we haven't had the time to keep in touch with our families much. I'm sure we'll find out about it at the same time as the rest of you."

I nodded quickly in agreement, giving him a grateful smile. Konan nodded along, "Awesome. Alright folks, last question and it's from Konan in Konoha: Who is your favorite singer?" We all let out laughs at her joke, gesturing to her as an answer. Sasuke spoke, "You, of course!" Konan stood and did a dramatic bow with a hint of a proud smile on her lips, "Oh! How kind of you! I'm flattered! Anyway, that about wraps us up for the day."

She refaced the camera head on and we all stood to bow to it as a goodbye, "Don't forget to tune into LMC at five this evening for Prestige's live debut performance! Thanks again for watching, let's give a warm thank you to our guests: Prestige!" She gestured to us and the clapping audio rang through the speakers again as we waved goodbye and the camera slowly zoomed out for a few moments before I heard a man yell, "Clear!" and Konan's perkiness dropped. She tossed the tablet she was holding onto the chair she'd been sitting in, "Later!"

With that, the rockstar Konan was leaving the building and our first ever interview as a group was a success!


	21. Chapter 21

**-Hinata's POV-**

Soon after our interview was finished, we were ushered back into the backstage waiting room so we could watch the recording of our segment. We all huddled together on one of the couches so we could watch together on one of the fancy tablets that were so popular at the LMC. Konan looked stunning on camera and it was obvious that she knew it.

I tried to put myself in the shoes of someone who didn't know any of us while watching. Sakura came off as a bit talkative but likable regardless, I came off as quiet and polite, Gaara came off as shy and maybe a bit child-like, and Sasuke came off as the ultimate player. There was a section under the video where live comments were being posted, similar to how Youtube was set up, and the majority of the comments were woman fawning over the boys. I couldn't blame them. If I didn't know either of them, I'd probably be doing just the same thing. Now I wouldn't post thirsty comments, but I'd be thinking them.

Tenten cackled as she watched Sakura's face turn red when Konan offered to talk her up to Sasori, "Ha! You know, I know Sasori, too! If you're really interested in him, let me know." Sakura shot the brunette a glare but ultimately didn't argue with her offer. Tenten and I's eyes met and we shared a look of surprise at the lack of objection, but didn't say anything. Without any hesitation, Tenten whipped out her phone to, I assume, start texting Sasori about Sakura to see if he was interested. I refocused on the tablet. It was hard not to think negative things when you're watching yourself on camera and you have a history of low self-esteem.

I felt a grimace slowly start to form on my lips and fought to hide it by putting a hand casually over my mouth as I leaned over to get a better view. I kind of sank into the background during the video. The other three talked plenty and had their own moments that drew a lot of attention, but I felt as though I seemed exceptionally average compared to them. The video soon ended and Sakura started scrolling down through the comments to read a few, "Oooooh! Sasuke you already have fan girls and we haven't even performed yet!"

He snatched the tablet out of her hands to read a few of the comments before scoffing and handing it to Gaara, "So does Gaara, and you two have plenty of fanboys commenting. This is what's to be expected in this line of work." We all gave him a look of annoyance. He was so stuck up sometimes. I continued to silently peek at the screen as the other three scrolled down, but didn't notice too many comments mentioning me and I felt bad about it.

With a deep breath, I decided that I'd just have to work my butt off during the performance to gain some attention! This is what I've wanted to do for the longest time and I wasn't about to miss out on my chance to make it the best it can be!

* * *

After we were finished nit-picking the comments on our interview, we headed out with Tenten and Kakashi for a late lunch. We all squeezed into a large booth at some fancy steak restaurant and ordered our orders. While waiting for the food to arrive, Kakashi cleared his throat to get all of our attention. We all waited for him to speak silently, "I'm very proud of how you all handled yourselves during your interview. As the CEO of Evolution Entertainment, I feel as though you positively represented the company and made a fantastic first impression."

We all glanced at each other with various looks of pride and happiness before returning our attention to our boss so he could continue. "Also as your CEO, I want to give you some words of encouragement as the time for your debut nears. Don't be satisfied with a just okay performance. I want you all, and I'm sure you do too, to give it everything you've got tonight. There's nothing wrong with being emotional about your experiences and I want you to make the most of it for yourselves. Regardless of how tonight goes, I want you to give a show you can look back on and be proud of."

I felt tears start to sting the corners of my eyes and fought to push them back as his kind words pulled up emotions that I'd been feeling almost non-stop since my acceptance into the company. He was a smart man and knew just what to say to prepare us for this event. I could feel the anxiety melting away and being replaced with adrenaline. Our food arrived before we could reply to him and he seemed just fine with not getting a vocal reply. Our performance later this evening would be answer enough. Once we were finished with our meal, it was nearly three in the evening and we had to quickly head back to the station to change into our stage clothing so we could have our hair and makeup redone in time for our show.

Sakura's mirror was next to mine and the boys' were on the opposite wall so we could see each other in the reflection of our mirrors. My hair was being straightened and I glanced over to see Sasuke meet my gaze. He, too, was having his hair straightened so his messy hair would seem even fuller. He gave me a flirty wink and I rolled my eyes at him, unable to wipe the smile from my lips. He seemed completely unbothered by our debut, but I knew deep down that he was nervous.

The fingers on his right hand were tapping the arm of his chair absently, a quirk I'd quickly noticed meant that he was anxious. I pulled my eyes from his teasing ones and glanced over at Sakura to see her looking absolutely petrified as she stared down at her lap. She did nothing to hide her nerves. It was clear to everyone in the room that she was freaking out. Sasuke and I were familiar with being in front of many people because of our families, but Gaara and Sakura were completely new to the concept. I glanced in my mirror to catch a glimpse of Gaara.

His sister had come from Lee's salon to do his hair and makeup. LMC's provided makeup artist hadn't taken too kindly to having her orders interrupted and sat on one of the benches nearby with a pout on her face and her arms crossed angrily. Gaara seemed a bit nervous, but it seemed like having his sister nearby helped him cope. Of course I was nervous as hell, too! It's just that I was keeping my mind on Kakashi's encouraging words from earlier. I had to take a leap of faith, trust that my bandmates would have my back during this performance, and give it everything I had. "Move the hell outta my way! Those are my friends in there!" A familiar voice floated into the room from the door and we all looked to see Ino pushing past two bodyguards.

Tenten quickly ran over to shoo the guards and let our blond friend in, "Ino! You made it!" My hair and makeup were finally finished and I walked over to accept Ino's waiting hug. She squeezed me tightly, "I'm so excited for you all! There's no way I'd miss this!" Sakura was quick to join in on the hug, squeezing Ino as tight as she could to get a rise out of the super model. Ino pushed us back and held Sakura at an arms length, "God DAMN, girl! Lee really did a good job on you!" Sakura smacked the girl's hands away and pretended to model a few poses for her, "Oooh, thank you baby."

The boys waved from their places in their chairs. Ino was quick to greet Gaara and Temari, but ultimately passed them to stand behind Sasuke, who had been finished for a few moments but had yet to get out of his seat. She snaked her arms down over his shoulders to cross them over his chest. You could tell that she was just teasing him, but he couldn't hide the slight red tint on his cheeks. She stared deeply into his eyes in the mirror, "You're looking fine, as always, Sasuke. When are you going to take me out? After that first night meeting you, I've been waiting for your text!"

The young man pretended to check his calendar on his phone before speaking calmly, "How's tomorrow night?" Ino planted a big kiss on his cheek before removing her arms from him and messing up his hair, "As if, babe. Besides, I've got my eyes on a little somebody right now anyway." Sakura and Tenten were quick to bite onto her bait, "Really! Who?" Ino waggled her finger at us with a cocky grin, "You'll find out soon enough, but I will give you a hint!" She whirled around and pointed the same finger at Gaara, "YOU know him very well!" Gaara deadpanned, "Not Kankuro."

He said it as a statement, but meant it as a question. She shook her head, "You'll all find out before the night ends!" With that she head back towards the exit she'd come in from, "Well I'll be in front row! I can't wait to see you guys! Break a leg!" Sakura's makeup artist, who was the only male makeup artist in the room, clamped his mouth shut as her slim figure left his sight. She snickered at him, patting his back as though she understood what he was going through. He shook his head, "She's so beautiful..." Sakura nodded, "I know, buddy. I know."

The door to our waiting room once again opened, only for a crowd of people to arrive. I caught sight of familiar long dark hair and realized that these people must be our friends and family. Tears nearly rose to my eyes at the sight of Neji. Even while he was away at college we hadn't gone more than a few days without talking to each other, and it'd been over a week since we'd last spoken.

I bravely pulled him into a hug the moment he was past the others. He awkwardly patted my back. He was never one for much hugging, but I just wanted to express to him that I'd missed him. When I pulled away, I immediately took notice of Tenten dipping out of the room so Neji wouldn't see her. The poor girl was still so ashamed of how badly their last date went that she couldn't bear to face him. After tonight, I'd have to be sure to get her a second chance. I looked up at Neji's stern face and smiled, "Thank you for coming, Neji. It means a lot to me."

His face seemed more annoyed than usual and I gave him a questioning look. He muttered out in a bothered voice, "I didn't come alone. Someone else insisted on joining me." I looked behind him to see familiar brown eyes and messy dark hair. My face immediately went bright red and I took a step back, "K-Kiba! Long time no see! How've you b-b-b-been!"

The surgeon in training was a remarkable six foot three with noticeable muscles and tan skin. If I didn't know him personally, I'd think he was a basketball player or something. He smiled the same toothy grin that he always has and opened his arms for me to come hug him. I would never admit out loud that I was more than happy to accept his invitation, but I thought it quite easily as the feel of his muscular torso against my chest brought butterflies to my stomach. He pulled away and pulled out his phone so we could take a selfie together.

I smiled brightly and when we were finished he laughed, "I've been alright, Hinata. I'd ask how you've been, but I can see you've clearly been doing well! I saw your interview earlier and couldn't help myself from asking Neji if I could tag along. We haven't seen each other in what, a year or so?" I nodded and could feel my blush deepening. I was so hoping that he hadn't seen the interview where I'd mentioned that he was my celebrity crush. Honestly, I'd never thought about him that way since my eyes have always been on Naruto, but now that I was officially over the blonde I could see that Kiba did have some very nice qualities. Before I could reply to him, Sakura pulled me away by my arm.

I managed to give Neji and Kiba a pleading smile before allowing myself to be dragged away. When we came to a stop, I was facing an older and much more sturn looking Sakura. It could only be her mother. The woman had tan skin with the same pale pink hair, only hers was in a short pixie cut. She also had many more curves than her daughter, dressing in a skin tight cocktail dress for the concert. I smiled and shook the woman's hand, "My name's Hinata. You have a wonderful daughter!"

The woman smiled brightly, reaching over to ruffle Sakura's hair with nothing but adoration on her face, "I always knew she was destined for greatness! I'm so proud of you, baby. You've made me so happy, seeing you do what you've always dreamt of." Sakura hugged her mother tightly. I could tell that she'd missed her a lot. The moment seemed personal and I was tempted to back away to give them some space, but the two pulled apart before I could act on that urge. Two very tall and built men standing to the side of the pair suddenly drew my attention. How had I not noticed them before?

The first was obviously a soldier just by the way he carried himself. Once our eyes met, he shook my hand with a firm handshake and a small smile, "Nice to meet you, Miss Hinata. Take good care of our girl, will ya?" This had to be Sam, her mom's new boyfriend. His country accent gave it away instantly that he was a foreigner, but he seemed to have adjusted to living in Konoha in every other way than that. I nodded, "Of course!" I turned to the last person, who could only be Garrett, the main reason for Sakura's questionable actions for the past few weeks.

He was decently handsome, being very muscular and blonde, but knowing what he was really like ruined everything about him. I gingerly shook his hand. "The name's Garrett, Sweetheart." My blood started boiling and before I knew it, Sakura was laughing awkwardly and pulling me away from her family, "Well, we've got a few others to meet! Thanks for coming guys! I'll see you later!" I blindly ran into someone and took a step back to apologize only to come face to face with the one and only Itachi Uchiha, "A-ah! S-Sorry!" The older Uchiha brother smiled calmly, taking my hand and kissing it lightly, "No worries, Miss Hyuga. It's always a pleasure to see you."

He remembered who I was? We'd only met briefly on a few occasions, the latest being at least two years ago at some dinner party. I politely pulled my hand away from the extremely handsome man. If he kept ahold of it, I'd surely be overwhelmed by my anxiety. Sasuke scoffed, interupting whatever reply I was about to think up, "Step off, Itachi. She's not interested in you." Itachi let out a rumbling chuckle, "I was merely exchanging pleasantries with your friend, Sasuke. You don't need to be jealous."

Sakura was quick to try and muffle her laugh, but not quick enough that Sasuke didn't notice. He shot daggers at her before rolling his eyes, "Fine, _exchange pleasantries_ all you want. You'll be disappointed to find out that she's harder to flirt with than a brick wall." The anger that was previously boiling in my blood came back just slightly as he turned to head back to his mirror to have his stylist fix his hair since Ino had messed it up. I didn't let him get to me. He was just nervous and didn't know how to properly convey that.

Sakura offered her hand to Itachi, "My name is Sakura. It is very much a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Uchiha." I physically took a step back from her. She was laying on the charm thicker than peanut butter. The handsome man accepted her hand and planted a kiss on it the same way he had mine, "Wonderful to meet you, Sakura. I must apologize for my baby brother's behavior. Our parents raised us better than that, I can assure you." He released her hand and she clasped both of hers in front of her, "I'm sure they did. He's just trying to come off as tough, that's all."

The two shared a laugh and I backed away so as not to interrupt their conversation. I headed over to meet Gaara's brother, who I'd been told was named Kankuro, since he was the only one in the room I hadn't become acquainted with. When I approached, the man stood at a remarkable height and let out a wolfish grin, very similar to Kiba's, "You must be Hinata! Bring it in, family!"

He had a cast on one of his forearms, but I still nervously accepted the strange man's hug. When we parted, Temari slapped him on the side of his head, "Don't creep on Gaara's friends. She's way too young for you, pervert!" My face turned about fifty shades of red as the man sheepishly rubbed the back of his head that had been hit, "Ha ha, well it can't hurt to try, can it?" Gaara gave me an apologetic look and I shook my head at him forgivingly. Sakura soon joined us and Kankuro stood up to give her the same speal he had me, but Temari and Gaara both stopped him, "No Kankuro!" Sakura looked confused, but I just let out a small laugh. The man, who had to be in his mid to late twenties, sat back down with a childish pout on his lips, "You guys are no fun."

* * *

Once all of the introductions were finished and our friends and family were escorted back to their seats, there was a low pitched beep played throughout the whole station. That beep signalled to us all that we needed to get to our places because the show would be starting in ten minutes. Sakura stopped us all before we could head towards backstage to be fitted with our microphones, "Hey guys, hold up a second. Let's group up real quick."

Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes, but stayed anyway. She looked each of us in the eye as though she were memorizing everything about this moment, "Thank all three of you for putting up with me this far. I'm so happy that I'm in a group with you guys and not someone else." A smile slid onto my lips and I didn't try to stifle it, "Yes, thank you guys for everything so far."

Gaara was quick to add onto our little love fest, "I'm grateful for all of you for the hard work you've put in." We all looked at Sasuke expectantly, but he just stared at us like we were stupid. Sakura let out a small laugh, "Let's just do our best, okay?" We didn't honestly expect Sasuke to say something so cheesy, but we did feel like he felt at least a little bit happy that he was with us and not some other group. We then wordlessly headed off to perform our first ever live concert!


	22. Chapter 22

**AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE READ BEFORE READING THIS CHAPTER: I HIGHLY SUGGEST LISTENING TO THESE SONGS AS YOU READ THE CHAPTER TO REALLY GET INTO THE IMMERSION AND MAYBE EVEN FIND OUT YOU LIKE ONE OR MORE OF THE SONGS!**

 **THE FIRST SONG IS CALLED WE DONT TALK ANYMORE BY CHARLIE PUTH FT. SELENA GOMEZ**

 **THE SECOND SONG IS CALLED OVER AND OVER AGAIN BY NATHAN SYKES FT. ARIANA GRANDE**

 **THE THIRD SONG IS CALLED FAMILIAR BY LIAM PAYNE FT. J BALVIN**

 **On another note, I wanted to formally apologize for my long absence a few chapters back. My grandmother passed away and I took some time off to deal with that. I should have let you all know and I fear I may have lost a few readers as a result of my mini-hiatus.**

 **Thank you to those who have stuck with me and welcome to those that are new to the story!**

 **Also, if you WERE upset with me for the long break and don't want to read anymore, I understand why you're upset, but I do hope you'll give me another chance and continue reading because I do enjoy receiving feedback from you all.**

 **Thanks again to all readers for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

I could tell that the announcer was saying something loudly through the speakers, but it was a mere buzz in the back of my mind as I took my position on stage. There were very few sources of light in the room as Prestige's first live performance was being set up. I could feel Sasuke to my right and Sakura to my right, knowing that Gaara was on Sakura's other side.

The sudden sensation of a rough hand grabbing firmly onto mine had me looking quickly to my right. I couldn't see Sasuke because of the low light, but I was sure he'd only worked up the courage to grab my hand because of that fact. His hand was shaking slightly as he held onto my smaller hand with his much larger one. I couldn't help but feel relieved. Even the great Sasuke Uchiha got nervous. I slowly gave him a reassuring squeeze back to let him know that I was here with him and had his back. I wanted to tell him that aloud, but our microphones were already on and it'd be picked up. He returned my squeeze before releasing my hand altogether.

The intro music to We Don't Talk Anymore started playing and suddenly the room was alight with a multitude of colors. The stage lights were so bright it was almost hard to see the crowd, but if I slightly squinted I could make out that there couldn't be more than two hundred people physically present in the stands. My body acted on memory despite my heart being in my throat. I danced a salsa/hiphop dance slightly behind Sasuke as he approached the front. Gaara started out the song in his softer singing voice.

 **Gaara:** We don't talk anymore

We don't talk anymore

We don't talk anymore

Like we used to do

We don't laugh anymore

What was all of it for?

Oh, we don't talk anymore

Like we used to do

Sakura and I twirled around to become equal with our partners as the first verse came up. My ears picked up a few cheers past our ear pieces and the bundle of nerves in my throat started to slowly melt away. I wrapped one arm around Sasuke's waist, my palm touching his hipbone as he began singing.

 **Sasuke:** I just heard you found the one you've been looking—

You've been looking for

I wish I would have known that wasn't me

'Cause even after all this time I still wonder

Why I can't move on

Just the way you did so easily

Sasuke and I expertly performed the proper steps to the song. It were as though a barrier had broken between us and we were suddenly past all of the discomfort we had with each other. Perhaps it was the bright lights that had us feeling like we had no other choice but to trust each other. Sasuke continued singing, sounding like a seasoned performer with how close he sounded to the recorded version of the song.

 **Sasuke:** Don't wanna know

Kind of dress you're wearing tonight

If he's holdin' onto you so tight

The way I did before

I bravely pulled Sasuke's face in my direction so he'd be forced to look at me as his line ended and Gaara's began. A few hollers could be heard in reaction to my forward movement. Honestly, the move wasn't part of the choreography, but Tsunade had encouraged us to add a few personal moves into our performances so long as they didn't disrupt the normal steps. Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as they met mine and I smiled brightly at him in an effort to sooth his nerves. He quickly relaxed and seemed to be holding back his signature smirk as Gaara continued with the next lines of the song.

 **Gaara:** I overdosed

Should've known your love was a game

Now I can't get you out of my brain

Oh, it's such a shame

That we don't talk anymore

We don't talk anymore

We don't talk anymore

Like we used to do

 **Sasuke:** We don't laugh anymore

What was all of it for?

Oh, we don't talk anymore

Like we used to do

Suddenly, I ripped away from Sasuke and gently pushed him back as I moved to meet Sakura at center stage. She and I started our dance steps with ease and comfort as Sakura started singing.

 **Sakura:** I just hope you're lying next to somebody

Who knows how to love you like me

There must be a good reason that you're gone

Every now and then I think you might want me to

Come show up at your door

But I'm just too afraid that I'll be wrong

This was it. The moment when I would be singing. I squeezed my eyes shut and did my best to remember all of my training, forcing myself to relax and sing properly.

 **Hinata:** Don't wanna know

If you're looking into her eyes

If she's holdin' onto you so tight

The way I did before

I overdosed

Should've known your love was a game

Now I can't get you out of my brain

Oh, it's such a shame

Sasuke came up and gently twirled Sakura away, handing her gently off to Gaara so the two could complete the dance steps slightly behind Sasuke and I while we sang the first chorus together. We were instructed to refrain from the choreography and just do what feels right when the first chorus hit. Gaara and Sakura would take care of the dancing while we took care of the singing for the moment. The other two would sing the back up part for the chorus.

 **Sasuke and Hinata** : That we don't talk anymore

 **G and S:** (we don't, we don't)

 **S and H:** We don't talk anymore

 **G and S:** (we don't, we don't)

 **S and H:** We don't talk anymore

Like we used to do

We don't laugh anymore

 **G and S:** (we don't, we don't)

 **S and H:** What was all of it for?

 **G and S:** (we don't, we don't)

Oh, we don't talk anymore

Like we used to do

Sasuke and I circled opposite parts of the stage to let the two main dancers come forward and lead the dance break portion of the song. Gaara stood to my left as I stood at the edge of the stage. As I stood so close to the crowd, I could make out individual fans' faces and felt a bit of my nerves creep back up, but tried to ignore it. There was a small girl near the front with pretty brown hair and blue eyes that looked up at me how I pictured myself looking up at Tenten when I watched her live concerts on tv.

Pride swelled in my chest and I gave her a direct smile, hoping she could tell that I was smiling for her. Her little face lit up and she patted her mother and pointed at me excitedly as I continued to dance. I threw a wink at her before heading back to join my group as the bridge came up in the song. Sasuke and Sakura joined Gaara and I center stage where we all stood still for the first time since the concert started, if only for a moment. Sasuke and I sang the bridge so we could hand the final verse off to Sakura and Gaara.

 **Sasuke:** Don't wanna know

Kind of dress you're wearing tonight

If he's giving it to you just right

The way I did before

 **Hinata:** I overdosed

Should've known your love was a game

Now I can't get you out of my brain

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** Oh, it's such a shame!

Gaara and Sakura took over the singing for the final verse, leaving Sasuke and I to sing their back up and focus mainly on executing the dance properly.

 **G and S:** That we don't talk anymore

 **S and H:** (we don't, we don't)

 **G and S:** We don't talk anymore

 **S and H:** (we don't, we don't)

 **G and S:** We don't talk anymore

Like we used to do

We don't laugh anymore

 **S and H:** (we don't, we don't)

 **G and S:** What was all of it for?

 **S and H:** (we don't, we don't)

Oh, we don't talk anymore

Like we used to do

For the final line of the song, the accompaniment track faded out and the four of us sang in four part harmony, holding the final note out just slightly longer than the recorded version would.

 **All:** We don't talk anymore

The music stopped completely as our first song came to a close. We were all panting with effort, but not so much that we couldn't continue our show. We were supposed to reintroduce ourselves before the ballad so we could take a break and catch our breaths. This way, our ballad would sound better since we weren't struggling to get a breath in. Cheers erupted from the crowd and my hand crept up over my heart before I could stop it. Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes and I had to squeeze them shut to keep them from falling. I took a long bow to try and hide it from the cameras, hoping they wouldn't catch my moment of weakness.

Sakura handed me a bottle of water and I took a big gulp of it as she introduced herself and the group, "Hello everyone, we're Prestige!" More cheers came from the crowd, this time calming down after a moment so they could hear Sakura continue. "We'd like to thank you for supporting us today at our debut show. How're you liking it so far?" The room erupted louder than it had since the show started. A small laugh of disbelief left Gaara's mouth and was caught by his mic. I looked over to see he, too, was holding back tears.

I reached over and rubbed his back a few times to comfort him. He gave me a smile of thanks before wiping at his eyes and nodding, letting me know that he was okay. Sakura continued to talk about our group for a moment and I took that moment to look over to Sasuke. He was standing tall and proud, looking out into the crowd with an unreadable expression. It was a soft look that I'd yet to see on his face until now. Could it be that he really had been dreaming about this? The look of sheer relief on his face gave it away. The Uchiha was much more emotional inside than he let show.

"Well, my name is Sakura and I'm the leader of the group. It's been wonderful to meet you and I hope you enjoy the rest of the show, but let's meet the other members before we head on to our next song, okay?" Sakura was handling this like a professional. She addressed the audience as though she'd been doing this for all her life, but I could tell just how nervous she was. Her bright green eyes were looking around a bit too frantically and she had one of her hands behind her back in a tight fist. She had told me before that when she's nervous, she pretends that her nerves can be held physically so she'll focus it all into one of her hands so it doesn't affect her voice or dancing. I thought that was a great way to deal with stage fright and it seemed to be working wonders for her.

She turned and gave me a proud smile, gesturing for me to step up. I returned her happy expression, stepping up slowly, taking my time as I finally took a moment to just survey the crowd. It was silent for a moment and my mouth just started moving before I could stop it, "My name's Hinata, nice to meet you all! I'm sorry, I'm just a little nervous." The crowd cheered and I thought I heard a few words of encouragement being yelled out. I couldn't find Neji or Kiba in the crowd, but still tried to find them, "I'm the lead female vocalist for the group. Thank you for your support! I hope we make you all proud!"

I gave a sincere bow before rising back up and turning to hand the reigns over to Gaara. The redhead wiped some sweat from his forehead before stepping up. He had that shy smile he sometimes has, "My name is Gaara and I'm the main male dancer and rapper for Prestige. I'm very happy to be here today. I'd like to say thank you to those who made it possible." The other three of us on stage made noises of agreement behind him. The crowd was loving him. The shouts were significantly higher pitched, meaning more girls were paying attention at this point.

He didn't waste anymore words and turned to let Sasuke take his turn. The dark young man took a few steps to the front and introduced himself with his usual confident face, "My name is Sasuke. Thank you for coming to see us today." The hollers were louder and wilder than we'd heard yet and Sakura actually let out a small laugh at Gaara's shocked face. The girls in the crowd were losing it over Sasuke just introducing himself. The man in question had a small smirk on his face.

He motioned broadly with his hands for the crowd to simmer down after a moment. When they did, he continued, "Please enjoy the rest of our show and buy our album when it comes out one week from today." The crowd cheered again, but ultimately calmed down as the piano for our ballad, Over and Over again, began playing through the speakers.

We weren't really instructed to do anything special during the ballad. Similar to how practice had gone, we were told to just do what felt comfortable as long as we stayed open to the crowd. Gaara started off the ballad. His singing voice was developing more and more with each passing day. I was impressed by the sheer progress he'd made since I'd first heard him sing.

 **Gaara** : From the way you smile

To the way you look

You capture me

Unlike no other

From the first hello

Yeah, that's all it took

And suddenly

We had each other

Sakura came in and provided a female harmony to his baratone voice.

 **Gaara and Sakura:** And I won't leave you

Always be true

One plus one, two for life

Over and over again

Sasuke took over with a strong and confident first chorus.

 **Sasuke:** So don't ever think I need more

I've got the one to live for

No one else will do

And I'm telling you

Just put your heart in my hands

I promise it won't get broken

We'll never forget this moment

Yeah we'll stay brand new

'Cause I'll love you

Over and over again

Over and over again

Sakura came in strong, no longer just providing harmony. Her voice rang out clearly and smooth.

 **Sakura:** From the heat of night

To the break of day

I'll keep you safe

And hold you forever

And the sparks will fly

They will never fade

And every day gets better and better

Gaara then came in to provide a soft baratone harmony to Sakura's soprano.

 **Gaara and Sakura:** And I won't leave you

Always be true

One plus one, two for life

Over and over again

Sasuke came back in for the second chorus and I prepared myself to finally show what I could do.

 **Sasuke:**

So don't ever think I need more

I've got the one to live for

No one else will do

Yeah I'm telling you

Just put your heart in my hands

I finally came in, providing a more dramatic harmony for Sasuke's deep voice. The rest of the song was mainly Sasuke and I, with Sakura and Gaara throwing some harmonies in here and there.

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** I promise it won't get broken

We'll never forget this moment

Yeah we'll stay brand new

'Cause I'll love you

Over and over again

Over and over again

The piano sped up slightly as the bridge approached. I looked over at Sasuke as our voices mixed in the air and it was like I was back in that music room at school. The notes were floating physically in the air around me. Emotion swelled in my chest and I let them help me push my performance even further. I sang better than I ever had.

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** But when I'm with you

I lose track of time

When I'm without you

You're stuck on my mind

I'll be all you need

Until the day that I die

I'll love you

Over and over again

A hint of a smile came at the corners of Sasuke's mouth as we crept closer to each other unconsciously on stage as we sang together. My body felt light as a feather. I don't recall ever feeling so undeniably happy.

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** So don't ever think I need more

I've got the one to live for

No one else will do

I'm telling you

Just put your heart in my hands

I promise it won't get broken

We'll never forget this moment

Yeah we'll stay brand new

'Cause I'll love you

Over and over again

Over and over again

Gaara and Sakura finally rejoined us to sing the final line, again, in four part harmony.

 **All:** Over and over again

There was a slight pause in the air as the song came to a close before the crowd cheered and hollered and shouted in celebration with us. I looked over at my bandmates to see them all looking at each other as well. We had done it. We still had a whole song left in our performance and we were already incredibly happy with how our debut had gone. I met Sakura's watery green eyes and let out a mix between a laugh and a sob.

She pulled me into a hug and I accepted it happily. The boys, uncharacteristically enough, joined in and we all enjoyed a short group hug to show our support and happiness for each other. This was it. This was the friendship and love I'd been looking for all my life. I'd finally found it. I wiped at a few stray tears that managed to escape from my eyes as the extended opening music for our final song.

We quickly pulled apart and silently agreed to end the show with a bang, giving it our absolute all. Sasuke and I headed to one side of the stage while Sakura and Gaara headed toward the other. To my surprise, the height of the moment didn't stifle the heat that erupted on my skin where Sasuke's hands touched. He firmly held my leg up where it was supposed to be for the first dance move, caressing my lower back as I bent backwards for the dramatic pose. I stared into his eyes trustingly. I was going to go for it during this song. I'd dance my ass off and sing my heart out until I couldn't anymore.

There's no way I'd forgive myself if I didn't give my all. He stared back with the most open expression I'd seen him give me. He seemed happy, excited even. A small grin lay on his lips and while I was taken off guard by it, I was also happy he trusted me enough to let me see it. His lips parted and my eyes were drawn to his tongue, which he stuck out at me jokingly before starting the lyrics to the song. I rolled my eyes at him before following him through the steps of our duet.

 **Sasuke:** It's simple, you dip low

Your hips roll, you do the Calypso

An intro is all that I need, oh, yeah

Sakura came in with the next few lines, expertly speaking in Spanish as though she were fluent.

 **Sakura:** Yo empiezo primero

Tú sabes lo que me refiero

De cero, sabes que estoy pa' ti

I grabbed, touched, and ground against Sasuke in all the ways I'd been instructed to by Tsunade, only I did it much better than I ever had. I was on cloud nine. Our performance was going so well. I tried to tone down my smile as I sang, but struggled to contain my giddiness.

 **Hinata** : Ooh, ooh, I just wanted to get your name

But if it's cool, I wanna get inside your brain

Oh-uh-ahh

Sasuke and I sang together for the chorus.

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** Can we get famili-famili-famili-familiar? (yeah)

I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' ya (hey)

What's on your mind for later tonight?

Let me be the one to fill it up

Can we get famili-famili-famili-familiar?

I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin', I'm feelin' ya

What's on your mind for later tonight?

Let me be the one to fill it up

Can we get!

My body was drenched in sweat at this point and I could tell that Sasuke was working hard as well by the pants on the back of my neck when he stood behind me. The hair on my arms stood up on end despite my burning up when his hands would firmly, maybe almost roughly, grip my waist or run down my leg. I knew he felt it, too.

It was as though we were in a trance. We'd silently agreed when we got on that stage to do what we felt needed to be done to get the results we wanted. I hadn't told him that I was okay with him getting more touchy with me and he certainly hadn't told me to pretty much molest him on stage. Father will be so angry with me when he sees this! Perhaps Tsunade had made the dance a little too sexy, but it honestly did fit with the song and the music video would no doubt be amazing.

 **Sasuke:** Your waistline, the bassline (bass)

In real life, don't want it on FaceTime

'Cause great minds, they think just the same (hey, yeah)

You shake like vibrato

A model or some kind of bottle

Well, pour up 'cause I want a taste (a taste, oh)

 **Hinata:** Ooh, ooh, I just wanted to get your name

 **Gaara:** (Sólo quería tu nombre, baby)

 **Hinata:** But if it's cool, I wanna get inside your brain

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** Can we get famili-famili-famili-familiar? (familiar)

I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' ya (familiar)

What's on your mind for later tonight?

Let me be the one to fill it up

Can we get famili-famili-famili-familiar?

I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' ya (feelin' ya)

What's on your mind for later tonight?

Let me be the one to fill it up

Can we get!

We suddenly seperated and headed to seperate ends of the stage, Gaara and Sakura staying as a pair in center stage for the short dance break and upcoming rap verses.

 **Gaara:** Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sakura:** (Solamente tú y yo)

 **Gaara:** Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sakura:** (Solamente tú y yo)

 **Gaara:** Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** Let me be the one to fill it up

Can we get!

Sakura and Gaara started dancing apart so they could get their raps out without distraction.

 **Gaara:** Quisiera que tú y yo nos familiarizemos

Un poco de química y el party prendemos

Olvida las criticas, si nos entendemos

¿Qué tú cree si en tu mente nos metemos?

Señorita, qué necesita

Sería mucho mejor si participas

Así de lejos no, mejor cerquita

Yo voy hacerte todo lo que me permitas

 **Sakura** : Y sabes que lo que te pones te queda bien (queda bien)

Y me caes mucho mejor que un billete de cien

We all moved to the middle of the stage and finished the song and choreography out strong. My body was burning with the desire to rest, but I just couldn't let it.

 **Hinata:** Can we get famili-famili-famili-familiar?

I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' ya

What's on your mind for later tonight?

Let me be the one to fill it up

Can we get!

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** famili-famili-famili-familiar?

I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' I'm feelin' ya

What's on your mind for later tonight?

Let me be the one to fill it up

Can we get!

 **Gaara:** Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sakura** : Can we get famili-familiar?

 **Gaara** : Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sakura:** I just wanna get to know ya

 **Gaara:** Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sakura:** Can we get famili-familiar?

Let me be the one to fill it up

 **Sasuke and Hinata:** Can we get!

 **Gaara:** Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sakura:** I just wanna get to know you

 **Gaara:** Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sakura:** I just wanna get to know ya

 **Gaara:** Ah-ah-ah-ah

 **Sakura:** Can we get famili-familiar?

Let me be the one to fill it up

 **All:** Can we get!

Suddenly, just like that, our debut show was finished and over. I couldn't believe how quickly two weeks had passed and the messes I'd been in and made while they had. The crowd was on their feet cheering for us. Streamers were falling from the ceiling and the background track to Familiar continued to play softly despite the song being over, just so there would be background noise.

We all joined hands and gave a great bow to the crowd before saying thank you a few hundred times and eventually being ushered off the stage by the host of the night. Once we were backstage again, Sakura pulled me into a tight hug and I squeezed her back. We were both burning up, panting, and tired as hell, but we couldn't be more content. "We did amazing! I'm so happy!" I smiled and nodded, "We actually did it!"

Sasuke scoffed, "Well, what did you expect us to do, flop it?" I looked over to see that his wall was back up, but didn't let it bother me. He'd been vulnerable with me at a very important time and I didn't intend to question that and make him regret his decision. I slapped his arm before pulling away from Sakura to pull him into a tight hug, "I'm also proud of you, Sasuke! You did great!" My face was burning red, but I buried it in his damp black shirt. He lightly patted my back, almost awkwardly, "Don't get your stink all over me, Hyuga." I just smiled wider into his shirt.

That was his way of saying he was proud of me, too. When I pulled away, I turned to see Sakura and Gaara in a similar position, but Gaara was hugging her back and shooting a glare very pointedly at someone in the crowd of people that were approaching us backstage. When my eyes swept over the small group, I saw the athletic form of Garret approaching with an angry look on his face as he lay eyes on his "little sister" hugging Gaara. If he thinks he's about to ruin her night for her, he was dead wrong.


	23. Chapter 23

**WARNING: EXTREMELY MATURE CHAPTER!**

 **DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE NOT OLD ENOUGH OR NOT MATURE ENOUGH TO HANDLE THIS CONTENT.**

 **LEMON AHEAD!**

 **Remember when, in about chapter five or six, I mentioned that Tenten and Neji had met up at a club's opening and "did some things"?**

 **Well, I thought it'd be a cool idea to let you guys find out what happened!**

 **This is a very large lemon chapter so beware!**

 **Thanks to those who review, favorite, and follow! Hope you enjoy!**

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"Tenten, would you do the honors?" I graciously accepted the over-sized pair of scissors and snipped the ribbon that was tied up across the entrance of the brand new club: Evolve. If it wasn't obvious by the name or by the fact that I was doing the opening ceremony, Evolve was owned by Evolution Entertainment. Kakashi had picked the perfect location for it. It was on 5th street, surrounded loosely by various other upscale stores and restaurants, but not so close to them that the loud music would be a bother.

The crowd cheered and I led the way inside the club. It was truly remarkable inside. There were very little lights hanging from the ceiling, a majority of those that were were at the very large "E" shaped bar. The gargantuan dance floor was mainly a matte black with an amazing amount of glitter, but the small lines between the tiles were lined with led lights of all different colors. The DJ controlled the pattern of the lights so they often moved with the beat of the music. The bar, that I'd mentioned was shaped like an "E" for Evolve, there were two bartenders.

The middle section of the "E" cut the bar in two and each bartender handled their own half of the letter. The middle section had a fish tank running from the bar all the way to the ceiling, but instead of fish on the inside, there were little electronic jellyfish swimming about that also glowed to the beat of whatever music was playing. I could go on and on about all of the little fancy details of the bar, but that would take forever and I just don't have the time for that. Since I was hosting the grand opening, I was dutied to stay until close which was 2 in the morning.

Hours passed that were filled with mingling and accepting invitations to dance that I really didn't want to, but had no choice. Just after midnight, I was finally able to slip away from the crowd and took a seat at the furthest end of the bar. I enjoyed clubbing as much as the next girl, but it was never much fun when none of your close friends are able to make it and keep you company. Everyone was too busy to come out, which I didn't take offense to because everyone has their own lives and I know that. I just wish I had some female company to keep people at bay.

The familiar sound of a drink sliding in front of me pulled me from my pouting. I looked at the black marble-topped counter to see a pretty pink drink with a strawberry slice on the rim in front of me. My eyes rose to question the quiet bartender, but he just motioned to the other side of the bar. I scoured the bar for familiar faces only to be pleasantly surprised to have them meet the pearly eyes of one Neji Hyuuga.

I gave him a grateful smile and a wave, an invitation to come join me. He rose from his seat and came around to sit next to me. I clinked my glass against his before we both took a drink in silence. My eyes traveled up and down his body as he finished off his glass of what looked like whisky. Despite being at the bar for hours now, I hadn't had too much to drink and felt fairly clear minded, if not just slightly buzzed.

I was surprised by just how handsome the Hyuuga businessman looked. He still wore what looked like his work suit, but his tie was slightly loosened and the top button of his shirt was unbuttoned. He looked almost regal with his high cheekbones and full lips and I couldn't control the redness that came to my face when he finally caught me checking him out. He gave me a hint of a smile before motioning for the bartender to re-fill his glass. I sipped on my drink a bit faster, tempted to try and keep up with his pace. Finally, I broke the silence between us, "What brings you here, Neji? No offense, but this place doesn't seem to be your style." The man took another big sip of his drink before turning his body slightly towards me, a signal that he was willing to converse with me, "The CEO wants to try and liven up the Hyuga image. Apparently, we come off as too serious."

A laugh slipped past my lips and I shrugged, "I wonder where they got that idea." He shook his head, his smile widening slightly, "Yeah, no idea." I stared at him for a moment, trying to figure him out. We'd only met briefly when he'd come to bring Hinata's personal items to the agency and I'd done little more than argue with him the whole time he was there, but he still sent me a drink. He was a little hard to figure out. It was clear that his job and family were of utmost importance to him, but every once in a while I could tell that he wasn't so sure about what he was doing.

The way he'd hesitated when telling Hinata that her father wouldn't accept her home if she didn't void her contract with Evolution told me that clearly. He met my gaze and we just held it for a few seconds before I finally decided that I was going to just go for it. I leaned forward and gave him a small kiss on his cheek. He didn't stop me, so I grabbed one of his hands and pulled him to his feet as I started inching towards the dance floor, "Let me show you how to not be so serious, Mr. Hyuga." He quickly downed the rest of his drink before allowing me to pull him along to the middle of the dance floor. Our bodies were pressed tightly against each other's and it was easy to get lost in the moment.

His hands were on my hips, guiding my body back against his as we danced. The heat mixed with the alcohol had me feeling like I was floating in a sea of hot water. My hands slid up to rake through his long hair and he buried his face into my neck. His breath was hot against my sweaty skin and the familiar sensation of being turned on burned my very being. His lips ever so softly brushed against the sensitive skin in the crook of my neck and it was a done deal. I turned my body around to face his and gave him a warning look before letting him envelope my lips with his.

Our hands casually explored each other's bodies while our lips danced. After just a few moments, I remembered who I was and where we were, forcing me to pull away from our kiss. Had anyone seen? Thankfully, it seemed as though were were lost in the large crowd of people. The paparazzi would be having a field day if I'd been caught. We continued dancing for a few songs before I needed a break and we returned to our spots at the bar. My hair was sticking to my skin and sweat dusted my body. I gingerly released Neji's hand as we sat back down.

I could feel his eyes on me as I chugged down the remainder of the sweet drink he'd bought for me. It burned going down, but the coldness helped cool me down. I met his eye once I sat my drink back down. Again, we just held each other's gaze for a few moments before I motioned for the waiter to come over. He finished up with a few other people at the bar before approaching us, "What can I get for you, Miss Tenten?" My eyes never left Neji's as I spoke, "Bring us a bottle of your best gin and two shot glasses, please."

Neji's eyebrows rose in surprise and I just smiled at him, obviously challenging him. His eyes narrowed as he realized what I was doing and he accepted a shotglass from the bartender, finally breaking our eye contact. For the next hour, we killed half of a bottle of gin and it was getting harder and harder to think straight. Perhaps I was just drunk, but Neji seemed to be holding his liquor much better than I was. His calculating eyes only seemed more attuned to my actions the later in the night it got. The only give away that he was also feeling the effects of the alcohol was a slight redness in his cheeks and the increasing amount of courage that he had to flirt with me.

We talked about the agency, his families company, and the hardships of our careers as the night drew along. After taking another shot apiece, I sat my glass back down on the counter and knew I wouldn't be changing my mind. If Neji allowed me to, I was going to be going home with him. I wanted it badly. My gaze was burning with desire as I stared at him and I knew he felt it because he checked his very expensive looking watch before helping me to my feet and leading me towards the exit. My eyes stayed trained on him as we left the building and climbed into the car he had waiting for us. The fact that I was supposed to stay for a while longer at the club didn't even bother me. No one would even notice I was gone.

I slid into the roomy backseat of the car and he followed in after me. The driver had the black barrier up in the car so we couldn't see him so I assumed he knew where to go. He started driving the moment the door was closed and I looked over at Neji. He met my eyes and I finally did what I'd been wanting to do all night. I climbed onto his lap, straddling his waist, and pressed my lips hungrily against his. His hands ran up and down my back, through my hair, and over my thighs as our tongues danced a fast and sensual tango.

My hands felt whatever they could: his shoulders, his torso, and his hair. The air was hot and heavy. The car ride felt very short and before I knew it, I was no longer on top of Neji, but being pulled along by him into an expensive looking condo building. We took the elevator to the top floor and the moment the door to his condo was open, I was on him like a starving carnivore on a piece of fresh meat. He caught me and easily held my weight as I wrapped my legs around his waist. I wasted no time unbuttoning his shirt and nearly ripping it off of him, allowing it to fall onto the floor as he carried me towards what I assumed was his room. My hands traveled eagerly of his bare torso, impressed by the toned muscles that it held.

He, too, pulled my shirt off over my head, breaking our passionate kissing just momentarily. My skirt had already ridden up so my underwear were showing and he tossed me almost literally onto his bed, immediately coming down on top of me to pull my skirt and underwear off. I worked on unlatching my bra as he removed his belt and began removing his pants. Once we were both completely naked, he climbed back on top of me and our lips reconnected with just as much heat as before. He was stunning. His body was far more impressive than I thought it'd be and that only furthered my need for him. My hands traveled around his body to lightly scratch his back, but not enough to leave any marks.

I could feel his penis rubbing against my entrance and my body naturally rubbed against it, begging to be satisfied. He removed his lips from mine and let them travel to my neck. One of his hands reached down until it was at my nether regions and he expertly started rubbing my clit. A small gasp of pleasure slipped from my lips and I could feel him smile into my neck before he lightly bit down on it, again not hard enough to leave any marks. He really knew what he was doing. He trailed kisses on my neck, chest and stomach before finally holding apart my legs and burying his face where his hand had previously been. His tongue flicked roughly over my most sensitive area and a choked moan left my lips.

The room was spinning in a great way. The alcohol was making everything seem even better and I never wanted it to end. He licked and fingered like a professional until I was nearly about to reach my limit. My loud pants were all that could be heard, but I couldn't even register them. Just before I came, he pulled away and gave me a devilish grin. I looked down at him in disbelief, "No No! Don't stop!" A small laugh came from him and my instincts took over. I climbed off the bed, throwing him down to my best ability. He honestly had to let me push him otherwise not much would've been done in my drunk state. I climbed up on top of him on the bed and slowly straddled his hips, my forehead against his as I looked down at where our bodies were soon to combine. He was looking, too. I slid down onto his member, giving myself a few moments to adjust to his size before starting to rock my hips slowly against him.

His hands shot to my hips and a surprised moan rumbled in the back of his throat. I looked back up to his face and his eyes burned with desire. I began riding him, slow at first, but speeding up ever so slightly ever few moments. Before long, he was pulling my hips down to meet him with each thrust and we were both drenched in sweat. My body was on fire. He was amazing. I needed this to never stop. He let out a grunt or moan every once in a while, but mostly the air was filled with my pants and loud moans. I couldn't help myself and really didn't try to.

He felt so good. My lower regions were slick wet and so were his, our privates collided and parted so quickly and in rapid succession. Before I could get off, again, Neji wrapped one arm around my waist and sat up, pushing me back so I was laying on my back. He ravished me with kisses and nibbles and he drastically slowed the pace down. His penis slid in and out at an agonizing pace, drawing whines of protest to mix into the heated atmosphere. It still felt good, but I wanted to be taken with force and he knew that. He was teasing me. He smirked at my annoyed but still pleasured face before pulling up off of me and sitting on his knees, holding my body up slightly by my bottom.

He suddenly started thrusting in and out of my vigorously. Waves of pleasure rolled through my body. I couldn't remember ever feeling this good. His hands moved to grip my hips, pulling me hard against him with each thrust. One of my hands reached down to rub my clit while he had his way with me. Pressure was building very quickly in my lower abdomen and I had to do what I could to make it happen faster. I needed it. Finally, after being teased for nearly twenty minutes, my nerves released in an explosion of pleasure and my legs tensed at the sheer amount of euphoria running through my body.

Neji continued despite my reaching of my climax, leaning down to place a chaste kiss between my breasts before slowing down slightly. He pulled out suddenly and I almost thought he was done, but he easily lifted me up to flip me over. My limbs were weak, but I was quickly getting turned back on by his display of manliness. He was intent to ravish my body and was doing just that. He reentered my body at the new angle, slowly thrusting in and out of me at first, warming me back up. After what felt like years of tortured pleasure, I was able to recollect myself.

He stopped moving suddenly, but I didn't want him to stop so I started thrusting back onto his shaft. I don't think he expected this because I felt one of his hands fall heavily on my shoulder before he pushed me forcefully down, my face against the pillows, and started pumping into me as hard as he could. Screams came from me, but they were muffled by the pillows. He put his weight down onto me to keep me down and did what he wanted with my body. My insides were being abused in the best way possible. Before I could even register the building of another climax, I orgasmed with Neji's name rolling off my tongue.

His hands both moved the my waist, pulling me hard against him with each thrust. I could tell he was getting closer to his climax and tried my best to push back against him and make him feel the same pleasure I was feeling. He soon bent over me and paused. I could feel his penis convulse inside me and knew that he was finishing up. We were still for a moment before he kissed my back a few times, whispering lightly in my ear, "Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?" He pulled out of me and I sat up to face him on my knees, kissing his lips sweetly, "Of course not, baby. You were amazing."

We were both still very breathless. His lips danced with mine more slowly and romantically then, for just a few moments before we parted and he spoke gently as I lay slow kisses into his neck, "Would you care to join me for a shower?" I nodded into his neck, still obsessed with his body and gifting him with kisses everywhere that I could. The mood seemed to have shifted naturally to a more calm, but still sensual one. Less of a drunken frenzy, if you will. We stumbled from the bed into his en-suite and he started the shower.

I removed my makeup at the sink while the water warmed up, meeting Neji's wondering gaze more than once in the mirror with a smile. There was no awkwardness and it was refreshing. I turned to approach him, rubbing his rehardening cock in one hand while I slipped my tongue into his mouth. He moved us slowly into the large shower. The hot water quickly filled the walk-in shower with steam so the glass doors were fogged up. Both of our bodies and hair were soon dripping wet. I pulled away from our kiss and slowly ran kisses down his neck, to his chest, then his torso, before finally setting gently on my knees on the tiled floor and taking his member into one of my hands.

He looked surprised at my boldness, but did nothing to stop me so I continued. I ran my tongue slowly over the tip of his penis, beginning to pump it with my hand very slowly. We held eye contact as I slowly removed my hand and enveloped the entire length of his cock into my mouth. I had to raise my soft pallet so I wouldn't gag at the sheer length and girth of it, but that was one of the perks of being a singer. You learn not to gag. His head fell back in pleasure and a moan escaped him. I slowly pulled my head away from his body, letting his penis slide slowly out of my mouth before accepting it back in at the same agonizing tempo. One of his hands came down to hold the back of my head.

I followed his lead as he started to thrust gently in and out of my mouth. He soon started to pick up the pace and his fingers wrapped into my hair as he obviously tried to keep himself from going too fast and hurting me, but also so he could keep my head still. I held his gaze bravely as he did this. I had the alcohol to thank for that bravery. Normally, I'd be too embarrassed to look him in the eye while doing something like this. We continued what we were doing for what felt like an hour, but was really just five minutes or so before I felt him release my hair and pull out of my mouth.

He had to be close to coming, so why did he stop? He pulled me to my feet by one of my hands before picking me up under my legs and propping me up against the wall. His arms were under my knees and my body was just there for him to do what he pleased with it, and he did. He slid into my hole eagerly before starting the process of making me lose my mind again. The hot water fell onto us as he pumped into me as though his life depended on it. His eyes were locked onto mine with a passion in them that brought a blush to my cheeks. This wasn't the same sex that we'd had in the bedroom. No, this was more meaningful. He made me look him in the eye as he pleasured me, his lips parted slightly as he began to re-work up a sweat. Soon, he pulled out of me and sat me down. I could tell he was hesitating as he pumped his cock in his hand to keep from losing any of the progress towards his climax he'd created. I got down on my knees again and nodded for him to continue. He seemed unsure but still let me take his cock back into my mouth, this time letting me take control of the pace.

I went much quicker than before, wanting to help him orgasm. He seemed taken back by this and leaned forward to rest his head against the wall above me. After not even a few minutes, he pulled his penis from my control and looked as though he didn't know what do do. I opened my mouth and motioned for him to continue and he did, watching in wonder as he shot his load over my mouth and breasts. I swallowed what had landed in my mouth before giving his penis one last lick and rising to my feet. We then silently washed our bodies and hair before returning to the bed to finally get some sleep. We didn't really cuddle, but I kind of got that that wasn't really his thing so I didn't mind.

I was dead beat tired anyway and fell asleep almost instantly. It was as though I'd blinked and then my alarm was ringing to wake me up. My eyes crept open and I mentally prepared myself for the hangover to hit, but felt nothing. I reached over to shut my phone's alarm off, only to see that it was already morning and I was running late. I shot out of bed and quickly searched for my clothes. When I reached the living room, I found my shirt and nearly jumped out of my skin when Neji suddenly spoke in his original more serious voice, "Good morning."

I clutched my shirt to my chest, trying to hide my breasts in fear, only to realize it was just Neji and relax slightly. He was sitting on the couch with the newspaper in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. The recollection of what I'd done to him the night before came and my face burnt brightly, "Good morning, Neji. I'm sorry, but I have to go now. Last night was amazing." The man nodded in agreement, the smallest hint of a smirk on his lips before he covered them up with his coffee mug. I was thankful I wasn't black out drunk and could remember what happened, but a part of me wished I didn't. I normally didn't do some of the stuff I'd done to him or let him do to me last night, but that didn't mean I regretted it.

It had been very fun. My only concern was that he would think I was a slut. After dressing, brushing my hair, and gathering my things, I put my shoes on and headed for the door. I'd left my number on a sticky-note on his bedside table just in case I hadn't scared him off. Just as I was reaching for the door, Neji's voice stopped me, "Wait, Tenten." I looked back at him with my face just as red as before, "Yeah?" He stood from the couch and came over to hand me a small piece of paper that had his phone number on it as well, "Let me take you on a date." I accepted the paper with a small smile of relief. So he did still like me, then? I couldn't form words, but simply nodded before exiting his home and heading back to the agency.

We really shouldn't be together, being from such different areas of expertise, but that didn't mean I didn't want to try!


	24. Chapter 24

**-Sakura's POV-**

I felt Gaara's arms around me tighten slightly and even saw Hinata and Sasuke start inching towards us. I turned my head to see an angry Garrett pacing towards us quickly with his fists clenched and an enraged look on his American features. He was well ahead of the rest of the group of family and friends, having obviously pushed past them to get to Gaara and me as quick as possible. I struggled out of Gaara's tense hold and put my hands up in defense, intent to calm down my future step-brother, but the moment he got close to me, he pushed me roughly out of the way.

I didn't even have time to react and luckily Hinata and Sasuke were there to catch me before I could fall to the ground. I heard the sickening sound of skin against skin and knew that Garrett had hit Gaara. I fumbled to gain my balance and managed to turn just in time to see Gaara returning the favor with a frightening look on his normally peaceful face. Seeing as Gaara's eye was starting to show signs of a swollen or black eye, but Garrett was thrown to the ground with a bloody lip, it seemed as though Gaara could definitely stand his own against someone bigger than him. I was too shaken by the murderous look in his bewildered eyes to be concerned for either of their safety. Sasuke released his hold on my arm and gave Hinata a quick look of reassurance before quickly stepping around us and pulling Gaara back by both of his arms before the redhead could decide if he wanted to go in for some more retribution or not, "This isn't the time or place, man. Let him go."

Gaara's animalistic expression suddenly snapped back to his normal one as though hearing Sasuke talking him down snapped him out of some trance. He glanced around as though he hadn't realized what he'd just done, staring down at Garrett a few moments before turning his head quickly to look at me in a panic. His eyes swept over me as though he were looking for any sign of pain or injury. I took a step forward and gently lay a hand on his tensed up arm, giving Sasuke a look to get him to release our bandmate's hands from behind his back, "It's okay, Gaara. Let's go get a drink." It was obvious to me and everyone around who was staring silently as the aftermath of the mini fight played out that Gaara was in a fragile state of mind for the time being and needed to be away from the large group of people that had finally arrived backstage.

Tenten rushed out of the crowd of people and lay a hand on his other arm, leading us both back to our dressing room where we could keep everyone else out. I didn't see them, but I could tell that Kakashi, Hinata, and Sasuke were following us. I glanced over at Gaara's face and my heart yearned to comfort him because his guilt was clear on his face. He looked absolutely ashamed of his actions. Of course I was a little upset that he hadn't controlled himself, but a larger part of me knew that Garrett had it coming. Did he honestly think that Gaara was going to let him just beat up on him and do nothing about it? On top of that, he did it right after our debut show! I was honestly proud of Gaara for standing up for himself. Hell, even I want to punch that asshole in the face for all he's put me through.

Once we were all in the room with the door shut and locked behind us, we all sat on the couches, Hinata taking Tenten's place on Gaara's other side and rubbing his back gently to try and comfort him. She's never been that good with words, but she was doing what she could to let him know she was concerned and I'm sure he'd realize that later and be thankful. I held his hand on my lap and lightly traced little patterns onto his palm while Kakashi started talking to us. Sasuke sat on my other side, pretending not to be concerned for his friend's well being, but the way he had his whole body turned slightly toward us so we'd be in his peripheral as we listened to Kakashi speak let us know he really did care.

Gaara himself was trying his best to avoid everyone's eye contact but Kakashi's. "While I know we just had a conversation about being involved with drama, " Kakashi looked at each of us with a stern look before continuing, "I was personally there to witness this incident and know that none of you are in the wrong." We all drew a collective sigh of relief as he continued, "Just be aware that I won't be there for every single mishap you get into and you'll have to learn how to take control of the situation going forward. Gaara, " Kakashi addressed the currently angsty young man directly. Gaara looked up at him with worried eyes. "I'm happy that you stood up for Sakura, but next time try to just subdue him, not punch him, understood?"

I felt a heat rise to my cheeks. He was standing up for me? I figured the anger that literally took over him was a reaction to being hit in the face. Even I get a little crazy when someone hits me in the face. I know so for a fact because Karin and Suigetsu had done so a number of times when we were in the same school. I looked over at him in surprise and he looked back at me with a serious look, giving a curt nod to confirm what he knew I was questioning. There was a very loud knock on the door and Tenten silently went to answer it. The second she unlocked the doorknob, it shot open and my mother shot through the door. I rose to my feet, dropping Gaara's hand in the process. He rose slowly to his feet as well. Kakashi motioned for us to go ahead and talk to her, our meeting could wait a few minutes. I approached my teary-eyed mother and gave her a quick hug, "How did you like our show, Mom? Did I do well?"

A great part of me hoped she was unaware of the whole accident backstage, but the angry look on her face immediately let me know that that was very much not the case, "Sakura, you know very well that I'm beyond proud of you! I always have been and always will be, baby, but you know why I've interrupted your meeting." I couldn't help myself from letting my head hang in shame. Gaara stepped forward before I could come up with a reply. He stood in front of my mother and bowed deeply, "I'd like to offer my apologies to you and your family for my actions. I lost my temper and acted in a way that I regret."

My eyes widened at his boldness, but my mother surprised me by pulling him up into a tight hug. Gaara's eyes were just as wide as mine as he stared at me from over her shoulder. I was just as stunned as he was. My mother wasn't normally one to get close to someone she barely knew. In fact, her and Sam went on four dates before they even kissed. Mom eventually pulled away and held Gaara's hands in her own, studying his face carefully before reassuring him, "I saw what happened, my boy. I wanted to thank you for putting Garrett in his place after he decided to embarrass us all in public like that. Can you ever forgive us for his actions?" She lightly ran a hand over Gaara's face, just to the side of his now-obviously bruised eye. He winced slightly at her tough, but nodded, "Of course." His face was turning a light shade of pink and a giggle nearly slipped past my lips. I hated to interrupt, but I just had to know what she knew, "Mom, is Garrett okay?"

The woman released Gaara's hands and turned towards me with a hand on her hip and a stern look on her face, "He's fine, but you need to tell me what made him act like that to begin with. You didn't seem surprised by his actions." I scrambled to come up with a lie, but Gaara spoke up before I could stop him, "He has been harassing your daughter for some time, Ma'am. Sakura's just been too afraid to ruin your relationship with his father to speak up." I glared at him in shock. How could he just throw me under the bus like that!? He met my gaze with a firm look, letting me know he knew what he'd just done and held no regrets. "Is that true, Sakura? How long has this been going on?" I met my mother's eyes and felt tears well up as everything started to come out of the woodwork, "U-Um...well, since Sam and Garrett moved in, really. It's just that I hadn't seen you smile in so long and you looked so happy! I couldn't selfi-"

"Sakura Haruno! How dare you keep something like this from me! Do you honestly think that I'd want to be with a man who wouldn't handle the problem? You should've told me the moment he advanced on you!" Tears fell down my cheeks in shame as my mother started to cry as well. Gaara awkwardly returned to his seat on the couch between Hinata and Sasuke, who were trying their best to give us some privacy by looking at the newer comments on the tablet from our interview earlier. Tenten and Kakashi were having a quiet discussion on the couch across from them.

I didn't have any words so I just cried silently as she continued, "Baby, don't you know that you come first? Yes, I love Sam and yes I am happy with him, but if I find out he knew about his son's actions and didn't do anything, do you think I'll still feel the same? How far were you going to go with this? What if you were seriously hurt?" She suddenly clamped her mouth shut and wiped roughly at her tears. She pulled me into a tight hug, "Don't cry, Sakura. We'll be alright one way or another. I'm going to talk to Sam and figure out what he knows and let you know what happens. I love you, baby. Don't let this affect your big day! I love you I love you I love you! I've gotta go!" She let me go and quickly waved at the others in the room, "Sorry for interrupting! You all did amazing!"

Everyone let out varying noises of appreciation as the older woman left. It's just that they didn't see the fresh tears still falling from her eyes as she left the room. Hinata rose to her feet to pull me back to the couch. She put her arms around me as Kakashi continued our meeting. I wiped angrily at my tears, trying to ignore Gaara's stare. Anger rushed through my blood at what he'd just done and I didn't know what to do to get rid of it so I just kept my mouth clamped shut and my eyes on our agency's CEO. Kakashi obviously wanted to avoid talking about what had just happened and quickly started talking about our performance, doing his best to brighten our spirits.

 **-Hinata's POV-**

After a very long post-performance meeting, we all were made back up by our make up artists and ushered back out to the LMC talk show stage for our second interview. I could tell that Sakura had been affected by her conversation with her mother, but she did her best to hide it behind a bright smile. Things were tense between her and Gaara, so much so that she'd chosen to have me sit in the middle next to him instead of her during the interview. It wasn't really any of my business, but I could relate to both sides of the argument.

While it wasn't Gaara's place to tell Sakura's mother about Garrett's harassment, I understood that he did it because he cares about her. Sakura was understandably angry at him and he was taking her silent treatment punishment like he deserved it, which he might. Sasuke was fed up with the whole situation, shaking his head in annoyance at the two every now and then when the camera's weren't on him. Once our tense interview was finished, it was nearly midnight and all I wanted was to take a steaming hot bath and go to bed. We trudged into the elevator once we were back at the agency. It was dead silent and awkward until the doors to the elevator reopened on our floor. Sasuke walked briskly ahead of us all towards his room.

We all paused until he reached his and Gaara's door before I awkwardly stepped past the other two and hurried to unlocked our room as well. The air in the elevator was getting more tense by the moment and I didn't want to be there when the two finally spoke to each other. As soon as the door shut behind me, I heard Sakura's angry voice.

 **-Sakura's POV-**

As soon as Hinata and Sasuke were away, I had to get my emotions off my chest. I stepped out of the elevator before the doors could shut, Gaara following suit. I turned on my heel and pointed angrily at him, my voice hushed but still livid, "How dare you, Gaara! You had no right! Do you even know what you've done?" The redhead just stood there and listened to me berate him with attentive eyes, which made me even angrier. Where was the animalistic rage he had earlier?

I wanted him to be angry back at me so I wouldn't feel like such a jerk for being the only one arguing. I wasn't wrong for being upset with him. What he did was wrong and he had to know that otherwise he'd be talking back. "So you just don't have anything to say in your defense?" He looked at me with searching teal eyes for a moment before confessing in his usual soft but sturdy voice, "I understand why you're angry and I'm not going to argue with you about why you feel the way you feel. I did what I did because it needed to be done before you got hurt and I don't regret that."

He turned to walk towards his room, but I grabbed his arm, "That's all you have to say for yourself? My mother is distraught, Gaara! You may have just ruined her engagement!" The muscles in his arm tightened up slightly and I knew that I'd struck a nerve somehow. He turned back to face me with his jaw set in a line, "If your mother's engagement is broken off, it would be Garrett's fault, not mine and you know that." I do know that. What I don't know is why I just needed to get a rise out of him right now. I hardened my glare, "You don't get to take matters like this into your own hands and then not explain yourself, Gaara. You owe me at least that much." His gaze hardened and he pulled his arm gently yet firmly away from me. His voice was slightly louder as his anger was obviously rising, "I'm not going to sit around and watch you get yourself hurt for the sake of someone else, even if it is your mother. I'm not sorry."

My anger was bubbling over and I was finding it harder and harder to control myself. In the back of my mind I was telling myself to take a deep breath and handle the conversation like an adult, but I ignored it. I'm tired of being perfect all the time. "My well being is none of your business. You're not my boyfriend!" As soon as the words left my lips, I wished I could take them back. His anger quickly disappeared and was replaced by a blank slate of expression. He gave me a confirming nod before turning on his heel and heading to his room without a look back.

 **-Hinata's POV-**

When I heard the front door open and re-close, I hurried back to slip into the bath I'd prepared. I could hear Sakura's sobs as she passed the bathroom door to head into her room. They were then muffled by her closed door.

I sighed to myself and sank under the bubbles. Why can't we all just get along?


	25. Chapter 25

**MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!**

 **THIS STORY IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REWRITTEN AND ALL FURTHER UPDATES WILL BE AVAILABLE UNDER THE NAME "PRESTIGE".**

 **EACH CHAPTER UP UNTIL THIS POINT IS BEING REWRITTEN BECAUSE I'M JUST NOT HAPPY WITH SOME OF THE QUALITY OF WRITING AND I'VE REALIZED I HAVE AN ISSUE WITH SWITCHING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN PRESENT AND PAST TENSE VERBS.**

 **ON TOP OF THAT, THERE ARE A FEW MISTAKES IN THE STORY-LINE THAT I NEED TO FIX UP SO I WANT TO OFFER MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES TO MY LOYAL READERS FOR THE LONG BREAKS BETWEEN CHAPTERS AND NOT-THE-BEST QUALITY OF WRITING IN PREVIOUS CHAPTERS.**

 **I WANT TO GIVE YOU ALL THE BEST POSSIBLE STORY I CAN AND YOU ALL DESERVE THAT.**

 **IF IT'S NOT TOO SELFISH OF ME TO ASK, PLEASE GO FOLLOW/FAVORITE/REVIEW PRESTIGE AS THE REWRITTEN CHAPTERS COME OUT AND NEW CHAPTERS ARE RELEASED.**

 **THIS STORY "LOVE BEHIND THE CAMERA" IS NOW OFFICIALLY CANCELLED, BUT I WILL BE LEAVING IT UP SO ANY FUTURE READERS WILL KNOW TO SWITCH TO THE OTHER STORY TO SEE HOW THE STORY PLAYS OUT AND EVENTUALLY FINISHES!**

 **THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND PLEASE CONTINUE TO OFFER ME YOUR SUPPORT!**

 **I APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU AND YOUR FEEDBACK!**


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